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Volunteers for BISD required to pass a background check |
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Wednesday, September 03 2008 |
By Michelle Berry
Reporter
The Borger Independent School District is seeking volunteers for all of its local schools. However, it wants citizens to know that a criminal background check must be passed beforehand.
Liz Denton is the coordinator for the Volunteers for Public Schools program for BISD and also is the parent involvement coordinator for Borger High School. She said those wishing to get involved with the VIPS program are to contact the parent involvement coordinator on the campus they wish to volunteer on and fill out a volunteer form and background check.
Denton said the background check is something that is required for all volunteers wishing to work with Borger ISD.
“That’s the law now. We don’t have an option on that,” she said. “It’s just checking for safety issues to keep all of our children and staff safe.”
She said the backgrounds are more of a safety issue than a privacy issue and are handled in a very discreet manner.
In addition to general personal information, volunteers will be asked to answer the following questions and provide descriptions if necessary:
•Have you ever been convicted or plead guilty before a court of any federal, state, or municipal criminal offense (excluding minor traffic violations)?
•Have you ever received deferred adjudication or similar disposition for any federal, state, or municipal criminal offense?
•Have you ever received probation or community supervision for any federal, state or municipal criminal offense?
•Have you ever been convicted of any criminal offense in a country outside the jurisdiction of the United States?
•As of the date of the authorization, do you have any pending criminal charges against you?
Volunteers are also required to list all counties and states of residence since the age of 18 or high school graduation. Each field must be completed in its entirety, or the form will not be able to be processed. Those filling out the form must be specific about the dates of their residence.
In filling out the form, the person states they understand that a criminal background check must take place. They give permission to the employer to use any information provided during the application process in performing the criminal history check.
It also states that the person has been informed of his right to review and challenge any negative information that would adversely impact a decision to offer employment. In addition, it states that the person informed will have the opportunity to to clear up any mistaken information reported within a reasonable time frame established with the sole discretion of the employer.
Those wishing to find out more about the volunteer application process or information on the program can contact Denton at 273-4345.
In terms of the other schools, the following people can be contacted for further information:
Ofelia Linares, Borger Intermediate School, Borger Middle School, and Paul Belton Early Childhood Center Parent Involvement Coordinator, 273-1037 (BMS); 273-4342 (BIS); 273-1059 (PBECC).
Elia Smith, Crockett Elementary and Gateway Elementary Parent Involvement Coordinator, 273-1054 (Crockett); 273-1044 (Gateway).
Pete Loftis, Borger Middle School Parent Involvement Coordinator, 273-1037.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, September 04 2008 )
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