STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) Case No. 98-2803

)

STEPHEN CHASE, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to Notice, this cause was heard by Linda M. Rigot, the assigned Administrative Law Judge of the Division of Administrative Hearings, on June 1, 1999, in Miami, Florida.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Madelyn P. Schere, Esquire

Miami-Dade County School Board

1450 Northeast 2nd Avenue, Suite 400

Miami, Florida 33132

For Respondent: Did not appear and was not represented.

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE

The issue presented is whether Respondent is guilty of the allegations contained in the Notice of Specific Charges filed against him, and, if so, what disciplinary action should be taken, if any.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

By letter dated June 11, 1998, the Miami-Dade County School Board advised Respondent that he was suspended from his employment effective June 10, 1998, and that dismissal

proceedings were being initiated. Respondent timely requested an evidentiary hearing regarding the allegations against him. This cause was thereafter transferred to the Division of Administrative Hearings to conduct the evidentiary proceeding.

This cause was scheduled for final hearing several times and continued. After Respondent's attorney withdrew, Respondent requested that the hearing be conducted in June 1999 by which time he would be transferred to a federal prison in Miami and would be able to obtain an attorney to represent him.

Respondent did not appear for the final hearing, and no attorney appeared on his behalf. His niece Jeannette Veranas did appear to offer documents and take notes. Upon expressing a desire to represent his interests, she was briefly questioned to ascertain if she were qualified to do so. Since she knew nothing about the proceeding or the purpose of the proceeding; had not discussed with Respondent whether he wished her to represent his interests; and did not know the basic facts involved, such as the name of the school where Respondent taught, she was denied the opportunity to act as Respondent's qualified representative.

A recitation of the documents which she offered on Respondent's behalf revealed only hearsay evidence which would not be corroborative of any competent evidence. The School Board's objection to their admission in evidence was, therefore, sustained. Copies of those hearsay documents were also filed by Respondent with the Division of Administrative Hearings on

May 29, 1999, accompanied by a lengthy letter offering Respondent's version of the events alleged in the School Board's Notice of Specific Charges. Respondent also filed correspondence on June 14, 1999, responding to the School Board's proposed recommended order. Those two letters have been reviewed by the undersigned and deemed to be Respondent's proposed recommended order. All hearsay reports attached thereto and all hearsay statements contained therein have not been considered in the entry of this Recommended Order.

At the final hearing the School Board presented the testimony of Randy Kugler, Carmine Downey, Willie Shatteen, Tony Godoy, Karla Withee, DeVon Howard, Norman Lindeblad, Dr. Joyce Annunziata, and, by way of deposition,

Gwendolyn Haynes-Mack. Additionally, the School Board's Exhibits numbered 1-30 were admitted in evidence.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. At all times material hereto, Respondent was employed by the Miami-Dade County School Board as a teacher. He held a professional service contract of employment.

2. Respondent has an erratic history of employment by the School Board. He began his employment in 1988 as a substitute teacher. From the Spring of 1989 until February 1990 he worked as a teacher's aide. In May 1990 he resigned rather than accept an assignment at Banyan Elementary School. In February 1991 he was re-employed as a substitute teacher.

3. During the 1991-92 school year, Respondent was employed at North Hialeah Elementary School as a teacher. Because his classroom performance was unsatisfactory, he was issued prescriptions for improvement. He received a reprimand on December 12, 1991, for failing to comply with the prescriptions. His teaching performance for that school year was unsatisfactory.

4. In January 1992 Respondent was granted medical leave due to his "adjustment disorder." On March 17 he was "cleared" to return to work with conditions, but Respondent extended his leave to April 12. On April 10, however, he tendered his resignation as a teacher, taking a teacher's aide position instead on

   April 13.

   
   

5. On September 28, 1992, he resigned as a teacher's aide, stating his intention to work as an air conditioning contractor following Hurricane Andrew. Instead, he worked as a teacher for the Palm Beach County School Board.

6. On October 28, 1993, Respondent was re-employed by the Miami-Dade County School Board. He began teaching at Jan Mann, an alternative education middle school for at-risk students. At that school, Respondent expressed extreme anger, had emotional flare-ups, and had difficulty coping with stress. He even faked a heart attack. He had difficulty getting along with colleagues, and his students complained that he called them names. In September 1994 Respondent's principal requested that Respondent be transferred to a less stressful location for his safety as

   well as that of the staff and students.

   
   

7. On October 25, 1995, at his new assignment, Kelsey L. Pharr Elementary School, Respondent became involved in an argument with trespassing middle-school students and was on the verge of physically fighting with them. That evening, during the Parent Open House, those middle-school students returned with high-school students. Respondent became extremely agitated and was perspiring profusely. He threatened the students, telling them he would shoot them and put them in a "body bag." (He had frequently made similar statements to his own students.) An employee at the school saw a gun under Respondent's shirt, but a subsequent search did not uncover the gun. At Kelsey Pharr, Respondent frequently screamed at female co-workers, and some were afraid of him.

8. On November 27, 1995, Respondent's principal directed him to refrain from making any threatening remarks in the presence of others and from bringing weapons onto school grounds. Further, Respondent was directed to maintain professional decorum at all times.

9. On June 21, 1997, Respondent was arrested by the Metro- Dade police for operating a motorcycle "chop shop" at his home. During the arrest, Respondent yelled profanities, committed battery on a police officer, resisted the police with violence, and feigned a heart attack. Respondent was uncooperative and disrespectful. He did not conduct himself with professional

   decorum. Because of the number of guns that were observed in Respondent's home, the police contacted federal Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents.

10. A federal search warrant was executed at Respondent's home. The federal agents seized an "arsenal" of guns, silencers, pipe bombs, hate literature, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and manuals on how to make silencers and on how to kill people with knives or hands. There is no legitimate reason to possess without federal registration the short-barrel rifle, machine gun, and silencers which were seized from Respondent's home. There was also evidence that silencers were being manufactured in Respondent's home, which is illegal.

11. Respondent was the subject of much media attention. He was charged with the federal offense of manufacturing firearms without a license. Respondent was transferred to an alternate assignment with the School Board while his criminal charges were pending.

12. On October 21, 1997, Respondent plead guilty to possession of a firearm which was not registered, and he was sentenced on May 28, 1998, to 24 months' imprisonment, commencing on August 31, 1998. As part of Respondent's plea agreement, the remaining charges were dropped.

13. Respondent's conduct has been inconsistent with the standards of public conscience and good morals.

14. Respondent's conduct has been sufficiently notorious to

    bring him into public disgrace and impair his service to the community. One of the police officers involved in Respondent's arrest was "disgusted" to discover that Respondent was a teacher.

15. Respondent's conduct did not reflect credit upon himself and the education profession.

16. Respondent's erratic work history and emotional instability, coupled with his involvement with guns and criminal activity, make him a risk in the education community.

    CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

    
    

17. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the subject matter hereof and the parties hereto. Sections 120.569 and 120.57(1), Florida Statutes.

18. As the holder of a professional service contract, Respondent can only be dismissed for just cause, pursuant to Section 231.36(6)(a), Florida Statutes. The School Board has met its burden.

19. The Notice of Specific Charges contains three counts. Count I alleges that Respondent is guilty of immorality, which is defined in Rule 6B-4.009, Florida Administrative Code, as follows:

    (2) Immorality is defined as conduct that is inconsistent with the standards of public conscience and good morals. It is conduct sufficiently notorious to bring the individual concerned or the education profession into public disgrace or disrespect and impair the individual's service in the community.

    The evidence is uncontroverted that Respondent is guilty of

    immorality. His behavior at the Parent Open House and the circumstances causing his arrest and surrounding his arrest are not consistent with the standards of public conscience and good morals. There was extensive notoriety regarding his arrest, and his criminal behavior disgraced the education profession.

    Respondent's ability to contribute to his community is impaired both by his conduct and by his imprisonment.

20. Count II alleges that Respondent is guilty of gross insubordination, which is defined in Rule 6B-4.009, Florida Administrative Code, as follows:

    (4) Gross insubordination or willful neglect of duties is defined as a constant or continuing intentional refusal to obey a direct order, reasonable in nature, and given by and with proper authority.

    Respondent was directed to refrain from threatening others and was directed to display professional decorum at all times. His conduct on the day of his arrest--yelling profanities and attacking the police--demonstrates a lack of professional decorum and constitutes gross insubordination.

21. Count III alleges that the School Board has just cause to dismiss Respondent for violating a School Board rule and for violating the labor contract. School Board Rule 6Gx13-4A-1.21 requires all employees to conduct themselves in a manner reflecting credit upon themselves and the school system. The evidence is uncontroverted that Respondent's behavior was not a credit to himself or to the School Board.

22. The Contract between the Dade County Public Schools and the United Teachers of Dade provides in Article XXI, Section 2, that a teacher's private and personal life are not of concern to the School Board so long as the teacher's conduct does not violate professional ethics or consist of conduct which could lead to suspension or dismissal of the teacher. Respondent's conduct during the Parent Open House involved his public life, not his personal and private life. Threatening students with physical harm cannot be consistent with any code of professional ethics. Further, Respondent's arrest which made his personal and private life a public matter and revealed his involvement with criminal activity is not consistent with any code of professional ethics.

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is

RECOMMENDED that a final order be entered sustaining Respondent's suspension without pay, dismissing him as an employee of the School Board, and denying all claims for back pay.

DONE AND ENTERED this 14th day of July, 1999, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.

LINDA M. RIGOT

Administrative Law Judge

Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060

(850) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675

Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 14th day of July, 1999.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Madelyn P. Schere, Esquire Miami-Dade County School Board

1450 Northeast 2nd Avenue, Suite 400

Miami, Florida 33132

Federal Corrections Institute Stephen W. Chase

Registration No. 50294-004 Post Office Box 979137 Miami, Florida 33197

Stephen Chase

8365 Southwest 183 Terrace

Miami, Florida 33157

Roger C. Cuevas, Superintendent Miami-Dade County School Board

1450 Northeast 2nd Avenue, Suite 403

Miami, Florida 33132-1308

Tom Gallagher, Commissioner of Education Department of Education

The Capitol, Plaza Level 08 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO SUBMIT EXCEPTIONS

All parties have the right to submit written exceptions within 15 days from the date of this Recommended Order. Any exceptions to this Recommended Order should be filed with the agency that will issue the Final Order in this case.

Docket for Case No: 98-002803

Orders for Case No: 98-002803