Background Checks for Syracuse City School District

Background Checks

How did a sexual predator get a teaching position in Virginia? A recent investigation by the Washington Post uncovered, Kevin Ricks, an educator who had more dark secrets to hide than years of experience.

For nearly 30 years Ricks worked as a teacher, tutor, foreign exchange host and camp counselor. He, somehow, slipped through the cracks of the system. A background check did not reveal his long history of sexual deviance.

Although the background check process for the Syracuse City School district is more than thorough, nothing is fail proof.

Syracuse city school district

There are more than 21,000 students and 4,500 employees in the city school district. The director of safety and security, Tom Ristoff, said even those who aren’t educators must go through a rigorous background check.

The Step by step process:

• Apply for preferred job
• Go online, create an account, pay a processing fee
• If there is an issue with payment, the applicant is kicked from the system as a safeguard
• If fee is cleared as paid, applicant must go in for fingerprinting
• Must make an appointment with Security Offices and physically come in for electronic fingerprinting
• LiveScan machine is used to record fingerprinting (5-10 minutes)
• The prints are immediately sent to the FBI for an in-depth background check
• If there are no issues from the background check, clearance of the employee is available in 24 hours.

A librarian in the school district and mother of a 5-year old, Cynthia Needham expresses complete confidence in the background check process.

“As a parent and employee, I feel very confident that security is being regarded with the utmost priority,” said Needham.

LiveScan Fingerprinting

The LiveScan, electronic fingerprinting system, for Syracuse City school district is very thorough. “We were the first school district in Central New York, with the help of the New York education department, to bring the system on board,” said Ristoff.
Paper fingerprint cards are a system of the past. Due to the high volume of applicants and slow turnaround process of paper fingerprint cards, the LiveScan is much more efficient for several reasons.

“With the LiveScan system here, we can verify who the potential employee is and we can transmit their prints electronically. The quality has improved tremendously and it keeps the FBI happy,” said Ristoff.

There is also a reporting feature of the LiveScan system. LiveScan updates pending and current employees’ criminal record regularly.

The Scary Truth

Ristoff, who also worked as an Onondoga County sheriff’s deputy, admits there is always a possibility of a Kevin Ricks in Syracuse, due to the human element.

“I learned, during my time in law enforcement, you can never say never. Somebody who is criminally intent upon doing something, many times will find a manner of success. If you look at successful criminal masterminds, they were very good at evading their true identities,” said Ristoff.

In the case of Kevin Ricks, it came down to authorities and former employers in the past ignoring behavioral signs. Ricks, prior to his recent arrest, was always let go with a slap on the wrist at most.

Tom Ristoff reassures the community, “Examples like Kevin Ricks are rare, we take all strides possible to try and ensure that we have people who are carefully screened.” Currently there are 843 registered sex offenders in Onondoga County.