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Teachers Can Be Caught In School Drunk Five Times and On Drugs Three Times Before Being Fired
MichCapCon ^ | 9-28-12 | Tom Gantert

Posted on 09/28/2012 8:36:31 AM PDT by Mikey_1962

Forget zero tolerance. Bay City Public School teachers for years could be caught repeatedly under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol without being fired.

Teachers in possession or under the influence of illegal drugs could be caught three times before they lost their job, and they got five strikes if they were drunk on school grounds before being fired. A school district official said the language in the union contract that protects teachers for those instances "was incorporated into the teacher Master Agreement in 1997."

Those protections also were included in the Bay City Education Association teacher’s contract that was agreed to in January. That contract expired June 30 and negotiations on a new contract are ongoing.

Students weren’t given as many chances. The code of conduct for middle school and high school students states that if they are found to be under the influence or in possession of illegal drugs, they get a 5-day suspension or a 3-day suspension with counseling on the first offense.

A teacher caught selling drugs in class would get a 3-day suspension without pay with mandatory counseling, but wouldn’t be fired unless the teacher did it a second time.

"They must have had been high to approve that contract because no sober person would agree to that kind of policy," said Leon Drolet, chairman of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance. "The role models are held to a lower standard than the students. That just sends a horrible message. If anything is indicative of how far school boards are willing to bend to kiss the rings of union leaders, this is it.

"That is an absolute disgrace," he said.

The provision of the teachers' contract that allowed up to five strikes for being under the influence of alcohol and three strikes for being under the influence of illegal drugs before being fired was ruled as unenforceable by Public Act 103 in July 2011. However, the union contract states that if Public Act 103 is struck down, the policy goes back into effect for teachers.

The union contract states that the provisions remain in "full force and affect" for bargaining unit members not subject to the Teachers Tenure Act, which would include job titles such as librarians, guidance counselors, school psychologists, social workers and school nurses.

Bay City Superintendent Doug Newcombe said only a handful of employees are still covered by the contract language.

"From my point of view, that practice has already ended," Newcombe said. "We are not going to apply that language."

Newcombe said the district has not had a situation involving illegal drugs or alcohol arise with a teacher but that district officials would handle each incident on a case-by-case basis.

However, Newcombe would not say that the union protection for teachers who were under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol would be excluded from the union contract that is being negotiated now.

"I'm not going to speak to ongoing contract negotiations at all," he said. "What we would like to do is be uniform with how we handle things and I’ll leave it at that."

The student code of conduct states that the district shall contact local law enforcement authorities if a student is found to be under the influence or in possession of illegal drugs. The teacher’s contract doesn’t have such a stipulation.

Under terms of the contract, teachers found under the influence of alcohol would get a written reprimand on the first offense. On second offense, teachers would get a 3-day suspension without pay and with mandatory counseling. On the third offense, teachers would get a 5-day suspension without pay and with mandatory counseling. On the fourth offense, the penalty was a 10-day suspension without pay and with mandatory counseling. The fifth offense meant termination. A teacher could be fired if she or he didn’t participate in the counseling.

For illegal drugs, the first offense was a written reprimand and mandatory counseling. The second offense was a three-day suspension without pay. The third offense was termination.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: Michigan
KEYWORDS: alcohol; arth; cultureofcorruption; drugs; naughtyteacherslist; publicschools; schools; teachers; union; uniongoons; unions
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A teacher caught selling drugs in class would get a 3-day suspension without pay with mandatory counseling, but wouldn’t be fired unless the teacher did it a second time.

That says it all.

1 posted on 09/28/2012 8:36:35 AM PDT by Mikey_1962
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To: Mikey_1962
If anything is indicative of how far school boards are willing to bend to kiss the rings of union leaders, this is it.

I think at this point the bending over isn't to kiss anyone's ring.
2 posted on 09/28/2012 8:39:52 AM PDT by verum ago (Note to self: check the date, stupid!)
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To: Springman; Sioux-san; 70th Division; JPG; PGalt; DuncanWaring; taildragger; epluribus_2; tatown; ...
Yet a garbage man working for a private company would get fired for a fraction of this.

If anyone wants to be added to the Michigan Cap Con ping list, let me know.
3 posted on 09/28/2012 8:40:21 AM PDT by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
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To: Mikey_1962
*sigh* Unions protecting the worst of the worst.

That's unexpected...

4 posted on 09/28/2012 8:42:28 AM PDT by null and void (Day 1347 of our ObamaVacation from reality - Obama, a queer and present danger)
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To: verum ago
I think at this point the bending over isn't to kiss anyone's ring.

Although the muscle involved is ring shaped...

5 posted on 09/28/2012 8:43:35 AM PDT by null and void (Day 1347 of our ObamaVacation from reality - Obama, a queer and present danger)
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To: verum ago
The unions have actively worked to seize control of school boards. We need to be educated about their methods by studying them.

Michigan Education Association Building full capacity locals

Their strategy for seizing control of school boards

Electing your employer (pdf)
6 posted on 09/28/2012 8:47:39 AM PDT by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
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To: cripplecreek

A friend of mine taught piano at Berklee in Boston. His boss had an ice machine in his office for the Dewers. They all got fired.


7 posted on 09/28/2012 8:50:05 AM PDT by massgopguy (I owe everything to George Bailey)
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To: cripplecreek
Yet a garbage man working for a private company would get fired for a fraction of this.

One dirty UA in the oil patch (or hair follicle test) and you'd better practice saying "You want fries with that?".

Teachers get a pass? Sheesh!

8 posted on 09/28/2012 8:50:42 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)
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To: Mikey_1962

Well there is such a shortage of teachers, ya know, especially teachers who are so capable of multi-tasking.


9 posted on 09/28/2012 8:55:33 AM PDT by Uncle Chip
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To: Smokin' Joe

I nearly lost my job in a bindery because the newspaper listed my drunk driving arrest nearly 4 years after the fact.

I had to convince the editor to call my boss and tell him that it was filler for the day.


10 posted on 09/28/2012 8:55:56 AM PDT by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
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To: Mikey_1962

Red Lines!

On coke lines...


11 posted on 09/28/2012 8:58:01 AM PDT by Hardraade (http://junipersec.wordpress.com (I will fear no muslim))
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To: Hardraade

Whiskey bottles and brand new cars
Oak tree, you’re in my way
There’s too much coke and too much smoke
Look what’s going on math class

Ooh, that smell
Can’t you smell that smell?
Ooh, that smell
The smell of unions surrounds you, yeah


12 posted on 09/28/2012 9:08:41 AM PDT by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
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To: Mikey_1962
A teacher caught selling drugs in class would get a 3-day suspension without pay with mandatory counseling

Would they be reported to the police for criminal prosecution? Or would it be covered up as routine adult-minor sexual relations are in schools?

13 posted on 09/28/2012 9:10:17 AM PDT by a fool in paradise (Obama likes to claim credit for getting Osama. Why hasn't he tried Khalid Sheikh Mohammed yet?)
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To: Uncle Chip
you forgot the sarcasm tag because there is no shortage of teachers, and there are tons of people wanting to get into teaching that can't because the hangers on teachers want that pension......

another myth:...that teaching is the "hardest" job in the world.....lol

14 posted on 09/28/2012 9:19:31 AM PDT by cherry
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To: Mikey_1962

‘Teachers Can Be Caught In School Drunk Five Times and On Drugs Three Times Before Being Fired’

Don’t YOU try it!


15 posted on 09/28/2012 9:24:58 AM PDT by SMARTY ("The man who has no inner-life is a slave to his surroundings. "Henri Frederic Amiel)
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To: Mikey_1962

Unionized government employees...The rest of you can eat chet.

BTW, there are more unionized government employees now, than exist in the private sector.

16 posted on 09/28/2012 9:28:16 AM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: Mikey_1962

to be fair- kids can drive gteachers to drink


17 posted on 09/28/2012 10:00:29 AM PDT by CottShop (Scientific belief does not constitute scientific evidence, nor does it convey scientific knowledge)
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To: Mikey_1962

If they say they have an addiction, by law it is VERY hard to fire them.

Seen it at my plant all the time.


18 posted on 09/28/2012 10:29:09 AM PDT by redgolum ("God is dead" -- Nietzsche. "Nietzsche is dead" -- God.)
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To: redgolum

Yep... I was told by a friend some years back that if you suspected a lay-off just tell your manager that you’ve decided to own up to your substance abuse problem and you need assistance to deal with it. Just like that, you’ve got a safety net.


19 posted on 09/28/2012 11:22:45 AM PDT by ken in texas (I was taught to respect my elders but it keeps getting harder to find any.)
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To: ken in texas; redgolum
"Alcohol and drug use pose special problems under the ADA. Employees who use (or have used) alcohol or drugs may have a disability under the law. However, an employer can require these employees to meet the same work standards -- including not drinking or using drugs on the job -- as employees who do not have a disability. Here are some guidelines to follow when dealing with these tricky issues:

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/reasonable-accommodations-people-with-disabilities-29492.html

20 posted on 09/28/2012 1:06:07 PM PDT by JustSayNoToNannies (A free society's default policy: it's none of government's business.)
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