School workers getting fingerprinted

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MARQUETTE - Area school districts have been busy fingerprinting their veteran employees as the deadline for a new school safety state legislation requirement was July 1.

"It's a state requirement that all employees, permanent and part-time, go through a process that begins with fingerprinting," said Jon Hartwig, superintendent of the Marquette Area Public Schools.

The state law, introduced on Jan. 1, 2006, gave public and non-public school districts until this July to have their existing and new employees fingerprinted.

This includes not just teachers but support personnel, substitute teachers, custodians, food service workers and anyone who works with students, according to Michelle Carne, MAPS human resources specialist.

In the MAPS district - despite reminders - many existing employees have not arranged to be fingerprinted, she said.

"Existing employees had until July 1 '08," she said. "They cannot work for us again until they get it done."

In the past, not everybody working for schools had to be fingerprinted. Nowadays, the fingerprinting, which is done electronically at either the Marquette City Police Department or with a private company, leads to a criminal history record check done by the Michigan State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hartwig said.

The report will be sent to the Michigan Department of Education, identifying employees with criminal convictions. These reports are updated annually, according to the MDE.

"It contributes to our confidence in our work force," Hartwig said. "We're taking necessary steps to protect our students."

While new employees have to pay the $65 to be fingerprinted, employees hired prior to Jan. 1, 2006, are fingerprinted on the cost of the district, Carne said. So, far this has cost MAPS more than $40,000, with no aid from the state. MAPS has 450 regular employees and an additional 200 to 600 - depending on the time of year - part-time, substitute and volunteer workers.

"The whole reasoning behind the fingerprinting is to make sure that appropriate safe adults are working with the children," Carne said.

Smaller school districts in the area have had more success with getting their employees fingerprinted. In the Gwinn school district, even volunteers were fingerprinted, according to Superintendent Mike Maino.

"We wanted this for a long time," he said. "If they're going to be alone with the child - even volunteers - they have to be fingerprinted."

In the Negaunee school district, employees, including volunteer coaches and extracurricular coaches, have all been fingerprinted, Superintendent Steve Piereson said.

"I don't think there is anything wrong with the concept," he said. "(But) it would have been a good thing if the state would have helped" fund it.

Costs for the Negaunee district amounted to about $14,000, he added.

MAPS employees who did not get their fingerprints taken are asked to contact central administration at 225-4200.