STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

POLK COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 90-0741

)

EDWARD LEWIS GOODPASTER, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, the Division of Administrative Hearings, by its duly designated Hearing Officer, K. N. Ayers, held a public hearing in the above- styled case on April 12, 1990, at Bartow, Florida.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Donald H. Wilson, Jr., Esquire

Post Office Box 1578 Bartow, Florida 33830

For Respondent: Edward L. Goodpaster, pro se

9940 Joe Ebert Road Seffner, Florida 33584

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES

Whether Respondent is guilty of falsifying his employment application and, if so, should he be terminated from employment with the School Board.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

By letter dated October 16, 1989, Edward L. Goodpaster, Respondent, was advised by the Superintendent, Polk County Schools, Petitioner, that he was being suspended, with pay, effective that date, and that a recommendation would be made to the School Board to terminate him as a School Board employee. As grounds therefor, it is alleged that Respondent falsified his application for employment with the School Board.

At the hearing, Respondent was the only witness called to testify, and six exhibits were admitted into evidence. The operational facts are not in dispute, and the parties waived the right to submit proposed recommended orders.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. By application dated March 4, 1989, Respondent applied for a position on the instructional staff of the Polk County school system and was subsequently selected for employment. Respondent taught in Florida public schools from 1965 through 1986, and he holds a master's degree in education with some work done on his doctorate (Exhibit 1).

   
   

2. In answer to the question on the application whether he had been convicted of a criminal offense or if there were charges pending against him, Respondent checked "no".

   
   

3. On August 10, 1988, Respondent was arrested on information alleging Respondent, with intent to defraud, did unlawfully use or misuse payments made to him in excess of $100 to improve real property (Exhibit 2).

   
   

4. On October 10, 1989, in the Circuit Court in and for Citrus County, Respondent pleaded not guilty to the offense of misapplication of funds, adjudication of guilt was withheld, and Respondent was placed on probation for five years. An appeal is pending in those proceedings.

   
   

5. Respondent testified without contradiction that, following the serving of the information he had reason to believe that the charges against him had been dropped because his attorney, Mark Heidt, had so advised him. Mr. Heidt was subsequently reprimanded by the Florida Supreme Court for failure to provide competent representation to a client (Exhibit 6).

   
   

6. Before Respondent submitted his application for employment, he had been advised by his attorney that the charges against him had been dismissed and, relying on that representation, thought his answer to the query on the application form was correctly made.

   
   

7. When Goodpaster learned the charges against him had not been dismissed, he did not remember to advise Petitioner that his application had been submitted with inaccurate information. From the evidence submitted, it is not clear whether Respondent believed the charges against him had been resurrected or filed anew. If filed anew, the application could have been accurate.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

8. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the parties to, and the subject matter of, these proceedings.

   
   

9. In the letter notifying Goodpaster that he was being suspended, the reason given for this action was that Goodpaster had falsified his application. Section 231.36(1)(a), Florida Statutes, provides:

   
   

   Each person employed as a member of the instructional staff in any district school system shall be properly certi- fied and shall be entitled to and shall receive a written contract as specified in Chapter 230. All such contracts, except continuing contracts as specified in subsection (4), shall contain provi- sions for dismissal during the term of the contract only for just cause. Just

   cause includes, but is not limited to, misconduct in office, incompetence, gross insubordination, willful neglect of duty, or conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude.

   
   

10. The charge here preferred against Respondent is not one of those named above and, therefore, must fit under the general term "just cause"

    
    

11. A deliberate falsification of an application for employment would constitute just cause as such an act evinces dishonesty and false pretenses. These are adequate grounds for dismissal. However, here it is found that Respondent had a reasonable basis for believing the answer regarding charges pending against him was correct when made. Therefore, the disqualifying elements of fraud, deceit or dishonesty in submitting this application do not exist even though the application in fact contained an inaccurate response to a critical question.

    
    

12. From the foregoing, it is concluded that Respondent submitted an application for employment with the Polk County school system which contained a false answer to an important question on the application. It is further concluded that Respondent did not intentionally give a false answer to this question because he had been told by his lawyer that the charges against him had been dismissed. If the charges had been dismissed, Respondent's answer on the application would have been correct. However, Respondent is not without fault in failing to independently ascertain that the charges against him had been dismissed before submitting his certified application with the understanding that falsification of information there on is grounds for dismissal.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that Edward L. Goodpaster be found not guilty of intentionally submitting false information on his application for employment by the Polk County school system, but guilty of the lesser offense of negligently submitting a false answer. It is further recommended that Edward L. Goodpaster be forthwith restored to good standing in the instructional staff of the Polk County school system, but without back pay for the period between the suspension and the date of the Final Order entered in this case.

ENTERED this 18th day of April, 1990, in Tallahassee, Florida.

K. N. AYERS Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings The Desoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, FL :32399-1550

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 18th day of April, 1990.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Donald H. Wilson, Jr., Esquire Post Office Box 1578

Bartow, FL 33830

Edward L. Goodpaster 9940 Joe Ebert Road Seffner, FL 33584

John A. Stewart Superintendent of Schools Post Office Box 391 Bartow, FL 33830

Martin B. Schapp Administrator

Professional Practices Services

352 Florida Education Center

325 Gaines Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400

Docket for Case No: 90-000741

Orders for Case No: 90-000741