National News
Coos Bay schools volunteer without background check prompts investigation
May 01, 2015 posted by Steve Brownstein
After sexual assault allegations regarding a concessions stand worker at Marshfield baseball games turned out to be true, Coos Bay schools superintendent Dawn Granger has launched a districtwide audit of all volunteer files to make sure they comply with policy regarding background checks.
Policy IICC states that "background checks will be done for all volunteer applicants at the cost of the district."
Granger said there "is no application pending, nor is there one approved, right now in our system" for the concessions stand worker. Therefore, he will not be allowed to volunteer.
The issue came to light Wednesday following a story featuring the volunteer was published in Tuesday's print and online editions of The World. The allegations were unknown at the time, but after verifying the allegations were true, World editors removed the story from online publication.
Granger said there are about 1,500 approved volunteers throughout the district, of whom 139 are at Marshfield.
A background check usually takes less than 24 hours, and the volunteer's name, if approved, is then placed on a list that secretaries have access to when signing in visitors.
The system forks when it comes to the high school: On the academic side, the school secretary handles volunteers. On the athletics side, the athletics secretary maintains that volunteer list.
"I'm not sure where the breakdown is," she said. "I know if it was followed per policy, this should not have happened."
Granger received word of the allegations Wednesday morning.
Background checks expire June 30 every year, so any volunteer must reapply to continue helping in the upcoming school year.
"Every year we get a fresh picture of who our volunteers are," she said. "We're probably the strictest district ... because we want to avoid something exactly like this."
Anyone who does not have a background check on file with the district is not allowed to work with students, she said.
If a person applies to be a volunteer, and the background check reveals a crime involving children, a Measure 11 crime or a felony conviction in the last 10 years, Granger said that person will not be allowed to volunteer. She also said that individuals who have a fraud conviction on their record likely won't be allowed to volunteer, either (especially if the volunteer position involves finances, such as a treasurer position for a booster club).
In terms of the law, there was no violation, said District Attorney Paul Frasier.
The former volunteer had been convicted in 2009 of third-degree sodomy, a class A misdemeanor. By 2012 he had met all conditions of his probation, including continuing to register with the state. In other words, there was no legal problem with his volunteering.
That, however, makes no difference with the school district, which sets its own rules.
"We are very, very picky," she said. "Certainly, anybody who's ever done anything with children is not going to be able to volunteer."
Administrators and employees, including coaches, are responsible for making sure volunteers are approved, she said.
"We try and have it trickle down to everyone," said Marshfield principal Doug Holland. "Ultimately, it's me. I'm responsible for making sure it gets done. Everybody's got something, then it trickles down to the coaches. Every coach is responsible for making sure their staff is on the list."
Holland said the staff met Thursday to talk about "how diligent we need to be to look at everyone."
He told his staff: "If they have a heartbeat and they're on campus, they need to have a volunteer pass."
Holland said he wasn't sure whether this was a case of the volunteer not being told what was required or not following through.
He has distributed a list of all 139 volunteers to his administrators, asking them to double-check background checks.
