A former Natrona County School District program director said he did not follow up after Natrona County's chief deputy coroner tested positive for drug use when he worked as a campus supervisor at a local high school.

Wayne Beatty, the former director of Natrona County's Safe Schools program, said he assumed a physician, a medical review officer and Day Reporting Center handled any issues with Gary Hazen's positive test.

At that point, Beatty said he and the school district were no longer involved, and no disciplinary action was taken.

"I should have followed that up further," said Beatty, who retired last spring. "I did not. There is no way to sugar coat that."

Hazen is under investigation for obtaining drugs and pornography from homes of dead people, according to Division of Criminal Investigation affidavits. He was employed as a campus supervisor at Kelly Walsh High School from 1998 to 2002.

According to the affidavits, Hazen tested positive for barbiturates in 1999. Beatty said from roughly 1996 to 2000, campus supervisors voluntarily agreed to randomized drug testing.

Hazen's positive test came around the same time another campus supervisor was terminated for testing positive for use of what Beatty described as a commonly abused, illegal drug.

Beatty said he should have followed up on Hazen's test, and that if he had, he would have asked for verification of a prescription and visited with the testing lab for further details.

Hazen's attorney, Dallas Laird, said Tuesday that he could not comment on the case because he hasn't read all the filings or talked to Hazen in detail.

Wyoming school districts are only required to give pre-employment and randomized drug tests to employees in safety-sensitive positions. Bus drivers are one such position.

But districts vary on whether they ask other employees, such as teachers, to take drug tests.

Natrona County School District 1 and Laramie County School District 1 have "reasonable suspicion" policies, where an employee showing signs of drug or alcohol use can be asked to take a drug test.

Both school districts offer voluntary treatment programs for employees; Laramie County includes a deductible for treatment.

Employees in treatment keep their jobs, but they may be asked to consent to randomized drug testing and progress monitoring.

If employees of the Laramie County district test positive for a prescription drug, they are required to prove the drug has been prescribed to them, according to John Little, the assistant superintendent for human resources.

"They have to bring in something from a physician that says they are using that prescription legally," Little said. "They have to provide verification from their physician."

Campbell County School District 1 and Sweetwater County School District 1 currently do not have drug testing policies for all employees. Both follow the federal requirement of testing any employee in a safety-sensitive position.

Mike Lopiccolo, human resources director for Sweetwater County 1, said the district has a medical review officer conduct a second test when an employee tests positive for controlled substances.

"Obviously, they are removed until the validity of the test is verified," Lopiccolo said.

The Campbell County district is working on a drug policy, according to human resources manager Larry Reznicek. The district is exploring pre-employment, post-accident and reasonable suspicion drug testing with its attorney.

"We do not have a policy in our district," Reznicek said. "We're working on all of those."

Gillette is a booming town right now, he added, and is drawing in a large number of potential employees for local businesses, as well as the school district.

"I think we would be naive to not realize we have the potential for a problem," Reznicek said.

Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at 307-266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com. Read her blog at my.trib.com/jasasantos. Reporters Tom Morton and Christine Robinson contributed to this report.

Drug testing in government

Natrona County: Natrona County has no policy for random drug testing of its employees, including supervisors, according to County Attorney Eric Nelson. "That gets into privacy issues," he said Tuesday.

County employees with commercial driver's licenses must abide by the drug testing requirements of the Wyoming Department of Transportation, Nelson said.

The only formal statements about substance abuse and employees are found in the county's personnel policy manual, which contains a section on maintaining a "drug-free workplace" to comply with the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988.

The county, the manual states, "officially notifies its employees that the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession or use of a controlled substance or alcoholic beverages are prohibited in the Natrona County workplace."

The manual states employees shall abide by that policy, and requires employees to tell the county commissioners in five days of a conviction for a criminal drug offense occurring in the county workplace.

The commissioners then have 30 days to take action against the employee up to and including termination, or require the employee to participate satisfactorily in an approved drug abuse assistance program.

Casper: The city of Casper�uses random drug testing only on employees with�commercial driver's licenses and employees with the�police and fire departments, according to the city's drug and alcohol policy.

All city employees are tested before beginning work and on reasonable suspicion.

If an employee's drug test is positive, he or she will meet with a medical review officer to determine if there is a medical explanation for the result. If there is a legitimate reason, such as a prescription medication for a medical problem, the test is not reported positive.

If there is not a reasonable explanation, the employee is�given one chance to successfully complete a substance abuse program assigned by a professional and approved by the human resources department.

Upon returning to work, the employee will be required to have six more random drug tests during the next 12 months.

If another test is positive, the rules outline, the employee is fired.

Natrona County: Natrona County has no policy for random drug testing of its employees, including supervisors, according to County Attorney Eric Nelson. "That gets into privacy issues," he said Tuesday.

County employees with commercial driver's licenses must abide by the drug testing requirements of the Wyoming Department of Transportation, Nelson said.

The only formal statements about substance abuse and employees are found in the county's personnel policy manual, which contains a section on maintaining a "drug-free workplace" to comply with the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988.

The county, the manual states, "officially notifies its employees that the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession or use of a controlled substance or alcoholic beverages are prohibited in the Natrona County workplace."

The manual states employees shall abide by that policy, and requires employees to tell the county commissioners in five days of a conviction for a criminal drug offense occurring in the county workplace.

The commissioners then have 30 days to take action against the employee up to and including termination, or require the employee to participate satisfactorily in an approved drug abuse assistance program.

Casper: The city of Casper�uses random drug testing only on employees with�commercial driver's licenses and employees with the�police and fire departments, according to the city's drug and alcohol policy.

All city employees are tested before beginning work and on reasonable suspicion.

If an employee's drug test is positive, he or she will meet with a medical review officer to determine if there is a medical explanation for the result. If there is a legitimate reason, such as a prescription medication for a medical problem, the test is not reported positive.

If there is not a reasonable explanation, the employee is�given one chance to successfully complete a substance abuse program assigned by a professional and approved by the human resources department.

Upon returning to work, the employee will be required to have six more random drug tests during the next 12 months.

If another test is positive, the rules outline, the employee is fired.]]>