STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES COUNCIL, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 79-654

)

THOMASENA W. OWENS, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

A hearing was held in the above captioned matter, after due notice, at Jacksonville, Florida, on May 30, 1979, before the undersigned Hearing Officer.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: David Holder, Esquire

110 North Magnolia Tallahassee, Florida

For Respondent: Kenneth Vickers, Esquire

437 East Monroe Street Jacksonville, Florida 32202

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE

Whether Respondent's teacher's certificate should be suspended or revoked or other appropriate action taken for alleged violations of Chapter 231, Florida Statutes, and Chapter 6B, Florida Administrative Code, as set forth in the Petition herein.

At the commencement of the hearing, Petitioner moved to amend paragraphs 1 and 2 to reflect a correct date of May 5, 1977, in lieu of the date May 5, 1978, stated therein. There being no objection, the Motion was granted and the Petitioner so amended.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Respondent, Thomasena W. Owens, holds a Florida Teaching Certificate and has been employed in the Duval County Public School System at Ribault High School, Jacksonville, Florida, since 1979, as a cosmetology teacher (testimony of Respondent).

   
   

2. On May 5, 1977, Respondent conducted a fashion show with her students at the high school auditorium for the purpose of raising funds to defray expenses of graduating students to take examinations before the State Board of Cosmetology. Prior to this time, Respondent obtained permission from school authorities to conduct the fund raising activity. Written school policy required that tickets for such events must be prenumbered consecutively by the

   printer and that a report of tickets sold and funds received must be prepared by the person in charge of the activity (testimony of Davis, Respondent, Petitioner's composite exhibit No. 4).

   
   

3. On April 12, 1977, Respondent's husband, Herbert Owens, ordered the printing of 500 tickets for the sum of $15.00 in the name of Ribault High School

   - Cosmetology Department, at Bill Kight's Copy Center, Jacksonville, Florida. He later received the tickets from the Copy Center without paying for the same and delivered them to his wife's office at the school. The tickets were unnumbered. Prior to ordering the tickets, Respondent had not submitted a request for purchase approval to the School principal as was required under written school policies (testimony of Thrift, Harms, Davis, H. Owens, Petitioner's exhibit No. 1-2, 4,5).

   
   

4. The ticket price for the fashion show was one dollar. Prior to the event, there was an undetermined number of advance ticket sales. The school auditorium has an audience capacity of approximately 700 persons. Tickets were sold at the door at the night of the performance by Emily James, a School clerical employee. The door was the only available entrance to the auditorium. During the course of ticket sales immediately before the performance, some four or five individuals entered the auditorium with passes. Although the auditorium was not completely full, at least 500 persons were present during the show. A short time before the performance had concluded, Mrs. James turned over the cash receipts and unsold tickets in a box to Respondent. On June 9, 1977, Respondent executed a form titled "Report of Monies Collected," which reflected that she had turned in $103.00 in cash to the School bookkeeper on May 5, 1977. It further reflected that 300 tickets had been printed and that 176 tickets were turned in on June 9th. It further showed that the cash balance due of $21.00 had been turned in by Respondent on the same date. The form was countersigned by the school bookkeeper. (Testimony of James, Feagin, Davis, Respondent's exhibit No. 1).

   
   

5. In August, 1977, the bookkeeper for Bill Knight's Copy Center noted that the invoice for the tickets had not been paid by the high school. She called Mr. Owens for an explanation. He stated that the reason why the bill had not been paid was that only 300 tickets had been ordered and that in order to pay for the work, he needed another invoice, dated April 12, 1977, showing 300 tickets at the price of $15.00. The revised invoice was picked up by Mr. Owens. It was not until February 14, 1978, that the High School paid the bill for the tickets. (Testimony of Harms, H. Owens, Davis, Petitioner's exhibit No. 2, 6- 8).

   
   

6. Respondent received a satisfactory job performance evaluation from the school principal in 1977, although the principal had expressed concerns to her for previous irregular business transactions. Respondent received an unsatisfactory overall evaluation in 1978, which the principal explained was due to the fact that "I wanted to register with Ms. Owens my objections to the fund raising business . . . and I chose this method to do that." Although the principal stated that Respondent expressed positive qualities of demonstration and enthusiasm in her classes, she was concerned about her ability to impart knowledge to students. (Testimony of Davis, Petitioner's Exhibit No. 3).

   
   

7. Both Respondent and her husband testified at the hearing. Respondent disclaimed any knowledge of the ticket purchase and attributed all events concerning the transaction to her husband. However, when she was interview by Petitioner's security investigator in August, 1978, she told him that she had ordered the tickets and that her husband had picked them up. She also stated to

   him that, after discovering that she had been billed for 500 tickets even though she had ordered only 300, she went to the printers the next day and obtained a corrected invoice. In a subsequent interview about a week later, Respondent told the investigator that the corrected invoice had been mailed to her and that her husband had paid for the tickets and picked them up. At the hearing, Respondent testified that her husband had ordered that tickets because she was "busy." Although she had told the investigator that there had been advance ticket sales, at the hearing Respondent testified that she could not remember if there had been such sales. Her testimony indicated that students had counted the tickets before the performance and placed them in stacks of 25 each and that there were only 300 tickets. She further testified that Mrs. James had handed her a locked bag containing the door ticket sale receipts and unsold tickets, had placed the bag in the truck of Respondent's care, and that Respondent turned the money over to the bookkeeper the next day without knowing what was in the bag. She denied keeping any of the sales receipts or any wrong doing. She admitted that she was aware of school procedures to be followed in purchasing materials, but said that the principal an bookkeeper had authorized her to purchase the tickets. Her husband testified that he had ordered 300 tickets from the printer and picked them up when they were ready, but did not pay for them at that time. He admitted having the conversation with the printer's bookkeeper and requesting a revised invoice to reflect that only 300 tickets had been printed and delivered. He testified that he told his wife that he had paid for the tickets because he did not want her to have any "foul-ups" with the principal in regard to the bill being paid. He further testified that he viewed the crowd attending the fashion show and that there were approximately 200 spectators present.

   
   

8. In view of the inconsistencies and conflicts of the above testimony of Respondent and Mr. Owens between themselves and with the testimony of other witnesses, the demeanor of all witnesses, and the circumstances surrounding the transaction in question, the testimony of Respondent and her husband as summarized above in pertinent respects, is not deemed credible.

   
   

9. Based on the foregoing findings, it is further found that Respondent failed to properly account either for funds received for the sale of 200 tickets, or otherwise to satisfactorily account for the disposition of 200 missing tickets.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

10. Petitioner's complaint alleges that Respondent violated Section 231.28(1), Florida Statutes, in that she committed acts involving moral turpitude, personal conduct which seriously reduced her effectiveness as an employee of the Duval County School Board, and failed to comply with regulations of the State Board of Education and the Duval County School Board. It further alleges that she violated Section 231.09(2), Florida Statutes, and Rule 6B- 5.10(4), Florida Administrative Code, by failing to provide a proper example for her students. The complaint also alleges violations of Chapter 6B-1, Florida Administrative Code, by failing to practice her profession according to the highest ethical standards [6B-1.01(1), Florida Administrative Code], using her professional relationship with students for private gain [Rule 6B-1.02(2)(f), Florida Administrative Code], and using institutional privileges for private gain [Rule 6B-1.03(2)(d), Florida Administrative Code]. Based on the above allegations, Petitioner seeks to revoke or suspend Respondent's Florida Teacher's Certificate.

11. The evidence establishes that Respondent's husband ordered the printing of 500 tickets to the fashion show held at the high school on May 5, 1977, and that approximately 500 individuals attended the show. Respondent had not followed school procedures in obtaining the tickets and they were unnumbered in violation of school policy, thus precluding accurate accounting of sales. Respondent later turned in $124, representing the sale of 124 tickets, and 176 unsold tickets which left either 200 unsold tickets or $200 representing receipts from the same to be accounted for. Respondent's failure to so account for the discrepancy in tickets leads to the clear conclusion that the additional tickets were sold, but that the receipts therefrom were converted to Respondent's own use. If they had not been sold, it would have been a simple matter to return the unsold tickets to the school office to insure proper accounting. It is, therefore, concluded that Respondent was guilty of personal conduct which unquestionably reduced her effectiveness as an employee of the school board, and thus constitutes grounds for disciplinary action against her. Respondent's misconduct in converting funds belonging to the school also constitutes an act involving moral turpitude which is a further ground for disciplinary action under Section 231.28, Florida Statutes. Additionally, it is concluded that Respondent, by her conduct, violated the ethical standards of the teaching profession as alleged by Petitioner which are set forth in Chapter 6B- 1, Rules of the Professional Practices Council.

    
    

12. It is further concluded that the serious nature of Respondent's derelictions in the above regard justify revocation of her teaching certificate for a period of three years.

RECOMMENDATION

That Respondent's teaching certificate be revoked for a period of three (3) years, pursuant to Section 231.28, Florida Statutes.

DONE AND ORDERED in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida, this 20th day of August, 1979.

COPIES FURNISHED:

David Holder, Esquire

110 North Magnolia Tallahassee, Florida

Kenneth Vickers, Esquire

437 East Monroe Street Jacksonville, Florida 32202

THOMAS C. OLDHAM

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings Room 101, Collins Building Tallahassee, Florida 32301

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 20th day of August, 1979.

Docket for Case No: 79-000654

Orders for Case No: 79-000654