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Murphy – Local schools will be safer for students, thanks to a decision made by the Cherokee County Board of Education on Thursday night.
Board members approved an addition to the Community Use of Facilities policy that requires organizations that work with youth on school campuses to follow the same reporting procedures that staff follows for criminal offenses.
Chairman Jeff Tatham suggested the policy update about a month ago after seeing news reports in the Cherokee Scout about child predators in the area. He said none of the accused had been working with youth on school grounds, as far as he knew, but felt the board needs to do everything possible to protect students.
“In this day and age, I think that’s extremely important,” Tatham said. “We want to make sure we’re doing what we can to keep our children safe.”
The policy requires all approved organization volunteers to notify the principal of the school if they are arrested for, charged with or convicted of a criminal offense other than a traffic violation. The notice must be in writing and delivered to the principal by the next business day following the arrest, charge or conviction. If a volunteer fails to report information as required, it may lead to the entire organization being denied use of school facilities.
The policy also adds a Criminal History Verification – Youth Group Leaders & Members affidavit to be completed for each volunteer with the application for use of school facilities. The full amended policy can be read on Cherokee County Schools’ website, cherokee.k12.nc.us.