Mancos School Board members approved on first reading Monday an updated school drug and alcohol policy for extracurricular activities.
There have been a number of drug-related discipline issues in the district in the past two years, according to the policy.
Students wishing to participate in a school athletics program, along with a parent or guardian, must consent to drug testing, the policy states. The testing may be administered by random selection. If a student refuses to be tested when selected, he or she will be considered to have tested positive.
If a student tests positive for the presence of illegal drugs, he or she will be asked to provide another sample as soon as possible, which will be submitted to a testing lab.
If the second sample tests negative for the presence of illegal drugs, no further action will be taken. If the second sample tests positive, the student’s parent or guardian will be notified and a meeting will be scheduled with the student, parent or guardian and school officials.
For the first offense, the student will be suspended from participation in all extracurricular activities for 15 days. For a student’s second offense in the same school year, he or she will be suspended from participation in all extracurricular activities for the remainder of the school year.
Board members will take a second and final vote on the policy at the board’s next meeting July 18.
Also Monday, superintendent Brian Hanson told the board that updated fire and safety codes will require all school doors to be operated with a push-button lock from the inside. A plan must be in place to equip the doors with that technology by January 2018, he said. The extra expense to reconfigure the doors may factor in to a board decision to pursue a bond issue, he said.
Also Monday, the board approved the school district final budget for fiscal year 2017. The total budget is $6,650,194, and per-pupil funding for the fiscal year is $8,287. Hanson said the budget will include a carry-over of about $70,000 from the previous year, as well as a deficit spend to add another paraprofessional at the Early Learning Center. Hanson commended district business manager Chrissie Miller for her work on the budget.
The board approved accepting the resignation of middle school science teacher Kelly Gregory. Board members also approved the following hires:
April Englehart, Early Learning Center paraprofessional,Angela Guiles, middle school science teacher,Christopher Aiken, high school science teacher and boys basketball coach, andPeter Eppard as summer grounds and maintenance worker.The board also approved a $1,500 capital reserve expense for the removal of Tibbett’s Mobile Home, which had been on school property.
