"on or about October 17, 1978 . . . deliberately struck [her] principal, Lorene Lasher in the mouth with [her] fist"; (2) "during the 1977/1978 school
year and continuing into the 1978-1979 school year, . . . continuously failed to prepare adequate lesson plans . . . and failed to develop a definite curriculum
. . . all of which resulted in extremely poor classroom instruction"; (3) "during the 1977/1978 . . . [and] 1978/1979 school year(s) . . . appeared in [her] classroom under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs in the presence of [her] students"; (4) "during the . . . 1977/1978 and . . . 1978/1979 school year[s] . . . [had] unauthorized male friends in [her] classroom and/or office and in and about the school"; (5) "during . . . 1977/1978 and . . . 1978/1979 school year[s] . . . [allowed her] classroom students to be outside the classroom without a proper purpose"; (6) "on or about September 13, 1976 . . . [was] in possession of an unauthorized key to the school premises and on numerous occasions . . . entered the school premises with said unauthorized key at an unauthorized time"; (7) "on or about June 17, 1977 . . . had unauthorized whiskey bottles stored in [her] office"; (8) "on or about October 6, 1977 . . . failed to give interim report cards to students and/or to return duplicate report cards to the principal's office"; (9) "on or about September 12, 1977, .
. . failed to appear for bus duty leaving the students unattended"; (10) "on or about October 19, 1978 . . . failed to complete the test[ing], scoring and profile analysis of [her] students after having been ordered to do so by principal LASHER"; (11) "on or about the first week in October, 1978 . . . [was] requested by [her] principal LASHER to turn over [her] official grade book and lesson plans but failed to do so"; (12) "on or about October 12, 1978 while testing [her] class, . . . left them unsupervised and unattended without any proper purpose or reason"; (13) "both before and after September 22, 1978 . . . [kept] two different sets of grades for some . . . students"; (14) "during the 1977/1978 . . . [and] 1978/1979 school year[s] . . . failed to properly manage [her] students by leaving them unsupervised"; and the petition alleges that (15) notwithstanding counselling and assistance "by her principal and support staff in an effort to raise her level of performance as a classroom teacher . . .
Respondent remains hopelessly incompetent . . . ." Each of the first fourteen specifications is alleged to be a basis for dismissal, pursuant to Section 231.36(6), Florida Statues (1978 Supp.). Petitioner was deemed to have abandoned certain other allegations, for failure to specify the facts relied on in support of the allegations.
Petitioner has employed respondent for many years. For the six years ending in 1968, she taught biology at Stranahan High School, where Harold Mouser was principal. Later, she left off teaching science and began working as a librarian, or media specialist. In this capacity, respondent worked at Parkway Junior High School, at Deerfield and at a facility called Southside which housed a center for emotionally disturbed children, when she began working there.
Three or four years later, after the 1975-76 school year, the program for emotionally disturbed children was moved elsewhere, but respondent was allowed to remain with her library at Southside. Beginning in 1976, Southside was used for petitioner's Cyesis program, a program of instruction for pregnant school girls.
At all pertinent times, Lorene Lasher was principal of the Cyesis program. The first year that the Cyesis center was located at Southside, Ms. Lasher directed respondent to teach a science class, in addition to performing her duties as a librarian. The following school year, 1977-1978, Ms. Lasher closed the library and turned it into a physical education room. She assigned respondent to teach science and mathematics classes, for the 1977-1978 and 1978- 1979 school years. Almost from the time the Cyesis program moved to South side, there was friction between respondent and Ms. Lasher.
Things came to a head on October 17, 1978. That morning, shortly before school began, Ms. Lasher entered respondent's classroom. She placed some students' papers on respondent's desk, and demanded that respondent explain how she had marked the papers. Respondent, who was standing behind the desk, asked whether the complaining students had had permission to leave her classroom to speak to Ms. Lasher about the papers. During the heated argument that ensued, Ms. Lasher and respondent came closer together and respondent struck Ms. Lasher, breaking the skin above the lip. Ms. Lasher called out, "You hit me," and respondent replied, "You've been hitting me below the belt for two years," or words to that effect. Ms. Lasher summoned Charles Ramsdell, the guidance counselor, who, once inside respondent's classroom, asked her why she had hit Ms. Lasher. Respondent answered to the effect that Ms. Lasher had been hitting her daily, although not in a physical way.
Students at the Cyesis Center in grades seven through twelve were grouped together in the same classes. Because of the students' various levels of achievement, individual folders were kept containing a program of instruction for each student. In addition, respondent and the other teachers at the Cyesis program prepared lesson plans for the class as a whole, for their own use and for the use of substitute teachers, if necessary. The first time Marilyn Shaw substituted for respondent she was unable to find respondent's lesson plans, for reasons which are not clear from the evidence. Respondent had prepared the lesson plans, which a fellow teacher had seen the day before. On subsequent occasions, Ms. Shaw had no difficulty finding respondent's lesson plans, which gave adequate guidance for a substitute teacher. Respondent regularly prepared satisfactory lesson plans while she was teaching at the Cyesis center.
Except for wine infrequently, respondent refrains from drinking alcohol. She has never drunk any alcoholic beverages on school grounds, nor appeared in her classroom under the influence of alcohol or any other drug that affected her behavior.
Before the media center at Southside was closed down, representatives of firms selling audiovisual materials called on respondent to show their wares. On one such occasion, Ms. Lasher learned that a salesman was with respondent and told respondent to bring the salesman to Ms. Lasher's office. Thereafter he went directly to Ms. Lasher's office whenever he visited Southside. A Mr. Lipane once dropped off some keys in the teacher's lounge for respondent after her car had been repaired. At the end of the school year he and other friends of respondent helped respondent pick up some things. By this time, students were no longer in attendance. Except for this occasion, respondent never invited any man to visit her at work. Sometimes petitioner's maintenance personnel worked at Southside.
Respondent excused individual students from her class who needed to see the school nurse, the guidance counselor or some other school official. In keeping with school policy, respondent issued passes on these occasions. Also in keeping with school policy, respondent excused individual students who needed to go to the bathroom; a reusable pass was available to one student at a time for this purpose. Frequently, respondent sent a group of students into the hall just outside her classroom to do make-up work. She persisted in this practice even after Ms. Lasher had directed her to desist.
From time to time respondent borrowed a master key from Ms. Lasher's office which she sometimes lent to other teachers before it was returned to Ms. Lasher's office. Respondent never returned a key other than the one she had
borrowed. She never caused the master key to be duplicated or used it to enter the school at an unauthorized time.
On or about June 17, 1977, Ms. Lasher and two other employees of petitioner entered respondent's office, after the end of the school year and found empty bottles that had once contained whiskey and wine. Respondent maintained a collection of bottles to which other teachers also contributed.
The bottles were available for use by the art teacher. An art teacher once used bottles respondent had collected to make wind chimes.
The 1977-1978 school year was the first year petitioner had had a homeroom for some time. She was unaware of petitioner's policy requiring that homeroom teachers distribute interim report cards on October 6, 1977, as a prerequisite to giving students failing grades for the semester; and she distributed none. She learned of this requirement at the end of that semester and complied with it thereafter. A schedule was posted in the school office, but it was not established that the schedule indicated when interim report cards were to be sent out.
Every fifth week during the school year respondent had "bus duty." She failed to appear for bus duty on the afternoon of September 12, 1977. Instead she went to a workshop, for which she had obtained approval from Ms. Lasher beforehand. As soon as she arrived at the site of the workshop she telephoned Ms. Lasher's office and was told that somebody else was covering for her. On one other occasion, respondent was a few minutes late for bus duty because she was talking to a student. By the time she stopped by the office to
get the clipboard all teachers used for bus duty, somebody else had been sent to supervise students awaiting school buses.
At Ms. Lasher's instance, on October 12, 1978, Larry Wantuck, petitioner's math coordinator, met with respondent and Mr. Ramsdell, the Cyesis center's guidance counselor, to arrange for respondent to administer a "profile analysis" test to her students. Respondent was to administer the test over a four day period, and to grade the test papers afterwards with Mr. Ramsdell's assistance. She finished administering the tests on October 16, 1978. The following day, after her run in with Ms. Lasher, she was instructed to leave the school premises. When she left, she took the students' test papers with her to the office of the Classroom Teachers' Association. There she finished grading them on October 18, 1978. On October 19, 1978, she reported to petitioner's Lincoln Park Complex, as she had been directed to do. She left the test results in Mr. Wantuck's office, which was located at the Lincoln Park Complex, on October 19, 1978. On October 26, 1978, respondent happened to see Mr. Wantuck and asked him if he had found the test results she had left in his office. When he answered that he had not, they went together to his office and found them on his desk where respondent had left them.
At the end of the 1977-1978 school year, respondent turned in her grade book and lesson plans for filing, in accordance with a school policy designed to make them available for reference to teachers in succeeding years. In the fall of 1978, she requested and obtained her 1977-1978 plan book, for which she signed a receipt. She gave the book to a fellow teacher who took it to the Classroom Teachers' association to be copied, in preparation for filing harassment charges against Ms. Lasher. Ms. Lasher asked respondent to return the plan book, and respondent did so a few days later, promptly after regaining possession of the book herself.
After she had handed out alternating tests to seven students in her fifth period class, on or about October 12, 1978, respondent started out of her classroom headed for the bathroom. She had not shut the door behind her when Ms. Lasher ordered her to stay to supervise the students' test taking, which she did.
At the beginning of each school year, many teachers at the Cyesis Center began recording grades elsewhere than in the official roll book because class composition was particularly unstable then. In the fall of 1978, respondent recorded grades, including grades for the student Cecil Hunter, on index cards. Even after she had entered Cecil Hunter's name in her official roll book and begun noting her attendance there, she did not immediately transfer from the card the grades she had recorded there.
Occasionally respondent left her students unsupervised for a minute or two to go to the bathroom or to get a drink of water. If she was going to be gone longer, she would ask Ms. Bracewell or another colleague to look in on her students.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Section 231.36(6), Florida Statutes (1977), authorizes petitioner to suspend or dismiss a teacher who has attained continuing contract status only for "immorality, misconduct in office, incompetency, gross insubordination, willful neglect of duty, drunkenness, or conviction of any crime involving moral turpitude." Petitioner charged respondent with misconduct in office, incompetency, gross insubordination, willful neglect of duty, and drunkenness. Rule 6B-4.09, Florida Administrative Code, further defines these criteria:
Incompetency is defined as inability or lack of fitness to discharge the required
duty as a result of inefficiency or incapacity. Since incompetency is a relative term, an authoritative decision in an individual case may be made on the basis of testimony by members of a panel of expert witnesses appropriately appointed from the teaching professional by the Professional Practices Council. Such judgment shall be based on a preponderance of evidence sowing the existence of one or more of the following.
Inefficiency: (1) repeated failure to perform duties prescribed by law (Section 231.09, Florida Statutes); (2) repeated failure on the part of a teacher to communicate with and relate to children in the classroom, to such an extent that pupils are deprived of minimum educational experience; or (3)
repeated failure on the part of an administrator or supervisor to communicate with and relate
to teachers under his supervision to such an extent that the educational program for which he is responsible is seriously impaired.
Incapacity: (1) lack of emotional stability; (2) lack of adequate physical ability; (3) lack of general educational
background; or (4) lack of adequate command of his area of specialization.
* * *
Misconduct in office is defined as a violation of the Code of Ethics of the Education Profession so serious as to impair the individual's effectiveness in the school system.
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.
Drunkenness is defined as:
That condition which exists when an individual publicly is under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs to such an extent that his normal faculties are impaired; or
Conviction of the charges of drunkenness by a court of law.
The Code of Ethics of the Education Profession referred to in Rule 6B-4.09, Florida Administrative Code, has been promulgated as Chapter 6N-1, Florida Administrative Code. In pertinent part, the Code requires that a teacher "accord just and equitable treatment to all members of the profession in the exercise of their professional rights and responsibilities." Rule 6B- 1.04(2)(b), Florida Administrative Code.
Respondent failed to accord Ms. Lasher "just and equitable treatment" when she struck her on the morning of October 17, 1978. This was a violation of the Code of Ethics of the Education Profession so serious as to impair respondent's effectiveness in the school system.
In continuing to send students to work at a table in the hall after being instructed by Ms. Lasher not to, respondent was guilty of a "continuing intentional refusal to obey a direct order, reasonable in nature, and given by and with proper authority." Rule 6B-4.09(4), Florida Administrative Code.
Petitioner established no other violation of Rule 6B-4.09, Florida Administrative Code.
