According to Superintendent Tim Murley, GCA Services Group out of Knoxville and the Warren County School District both conduct full background checks on potential employees.

Murley says their contract specifically says GCA must also provide the Warren County Board of Education with all background checks it requests. He says if GCA does not live up to this agreement the school system will fire them.

"If this company does not do what they say they'll do with the background checks," says Murley, "I assure you they won't be with us. We will have control of that, and we will scrutinize that as we do with our own employees, and I can assure you we want a safe learning environment for our kids. That's what we are going to have."

The emphasis on background checks arose after a published report said GCA had placed two employees with criminal records in schools in Texas and Tennessee. Murley says both those school systems retained GCA after the incidents.

Murley says he is confident the stringent background checks both GCA and the school system are now doing will protect the children.