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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- A recent story reported out of northern Iowa had many in the Heartland wondering if school districts conduct background checks on non-certified employees; such as teacher’s associates and bus drivers.

The employee, Paula Pace, worked for the BCLUW Community School District. Pace was fired by the school board after it was discovered she was involved in the death of a teenage girl in the 1960s.

In Ottumwa, Superintendent Davis Eidahl told KTVO Thursday that the school district completes thorough background checks on all employees.

“Regardless of the position you are applying for within the Ottumwa Schools; whether it is a teacher’s associate working in the classrooms, custodian, food service worker; we do conduct background checks on all school employees,” Eidahl said.

The superintendent says that completing those background checks do carry a cost, but the investment pays off due to the fact that the district is ensuring the safety of the district’s students by completing them.