STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

EDUCATION PRACTICES COMMISSION, ) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 82-1559

)

GLENSA JOHN POOLE, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, the Division of Administrative Hearings, by its designated hearing officer, R. L. Caleen, Jr., held a formal hearing in this case on November 22, 1982, in Miami, Florida.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: J. David Holder, Esquire

Berg & Holder

128 Salem Court

Post Office Box 1694 Tallahassee, Florida 32302

For Respondent: William DuFresne, Esquire

DuFresne and Bradley 1782 One Biscayne Tower

Two South Biscayne Boulevard Miami, Florida 33131

ISSUE

Whether respondent's teacher's certificate should be disciplined on charges

1. that he was repeatedly arrested and convicted for passing worthless checks,

2. that he was arrested at the elementary school where he was employed for failure to return a rented vehicle, and (3) that he falsified his application for extension of his teacher's certificate.

   
   

   BACKGROUND

   
   

   On April 12, 1982, the Commissioner of Education, Ralph D. Turlington, filed an administrative complaint seeking to revoke or suspend the teaching certificate of the respondent, Glensa John Poole for alleged professional misconduct. Respondent contested the charges and requested a hearing. On June 2, 1982, the Department of Education ("Department") referred this case to the Division of Administrative Hearings for assignment of a hearing officer.

   
   

   At hearing, the Department called Desmond Patrick Gray as its only witness and Petitioner's Exhibits No. 1/ 1-22 were received into evidence. Respondent

   called no witnesses and presented no documentary evidence. Through counsel, he admitted paragraphs 1 and 2 of the administrative complaint and denied the remaining allegations.

   
   

   The transcript of hearing was filed on December 1, 1982. The Department filed proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law on December 8, 1982.

   
   

   FINDINGS OF FACT

   
   

   1. Respondent holds Florida teacher's certificate number 342272, regular, valid until June 30, 1986, covering the areas of sociology and social studies. At all times pertinent to the charges, respondent was employed as a public school teacher by the Dade County School District. (Testimony of Gray; P-5)

      
      

   2. Between 1977 and 1981, respondent was arrested sixteen times and charged with twenty-three counts of passing worthless bank checks, one count of failure to return a rented vehicle, one count of uttering a forged instrument and one count of forgery. On many of the charges, adjudication of guilt was initially withheld. Eventually, however, respondent was ordered to serve one year in the Dade County Stockade and was placed on probation for a period of five years following his release. (P-1 through P-22)

      
      

   3. Respondent, however, continued his habit of writing worthless checks. As a result, his probation officer sought to revoke his probation. On February 26, 1982, the Dade County Circuit Court adjudicated respondent guilty of fifteen offenses for which adjudication of guilt had been previously withheld, and ordered him to serve eight years in the state penitentiary, with twenty years of probation following his release. (P-1 through P-22)

      
      

   4. From 1977 through 1981, respondent wrote twenty-three bad checks totaling in excess of $9,500.00 (P-1 through P-22)

      
      

   5. On October 23, 1980, respondent applied for an extension of his teaching certificate. On his application, he indicated that he had never been convicted or had adjudication withheld in a criminal offense, and that there were no criminal charges pending against him other than minor traffic violations. In fact, respondent had been arrested on October 16, 1980, and charged with twelve felony counts of passing worthless bank checks. Moreover, respondent had previously had adjudication withheld on numerous criminal offenses involving felony counts of passing worthless checks. (P-1 through P- 22)

      
      

   6. Because of his extensive criminal misconduct, respondent's effectiveness as a teacher in the school system has been seriously reduced. He has failed to set a proper example for students. The Dade County School District has removed him from his position and would not recommend he be rehired by another school district. (Testimony of Gray)

      
      

   7. Respondent offered no testimony or other evidence in defense of the charges.

      
      

      CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

      
      

   8. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter of this proceeding. Section 120.57(1) Fla. Stat. (1981)

   9. Section 231.28, Florida Statutes, provides in pertinent part:

      
      

      The Education Practices Commission shall have authority to suspend the teaching certificate

      . . . for a period of time not to exceed three years; to revoke the teaching certificate . . . of any person, provided:

      1. It can be shown that such person obtained

         the teaching certificate by fraudulent means . . . has been guilty of gross immorality or an act involving moral turpitude . . . has been convicted of a misdemeanor, felony, or other criminal charge, other than a minor traffic violation; [or] upon investigation has been

         found guilty of personal conduct which seri- ously reduces his effectiveness as an employee of the school board . . .

         
         

   10. License revocation proceedings, such as this, are penal in nature. The prosecuting agency is required to prove its charges by clear and convincing evidence -- by evidence as substantial as the consequences facing the licensee. See, Bowling v. Department of Insurance, 394 So.2d 165 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981); Walker v. State, 322 So.2d 612 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975); Reid v. Florida Real Estate Commission, 188 So.2d 846 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966).

       
       

   11. The Department has established that respondent, in illegally passing twenty-three worthless bank checks totaling in excess of $9,500.00, is guilty of acts of gross immorality and moral turpitude. State ex rel. Tullidge vs. Hollingsworth, 146 So. 660, 661 (Fla. 1933); Winestock vs. Immigration and Naturalization Service, 576 F.2d 234 (9th Cir. 1978); Turlington vs. Leonard Lawrence Buxton, Final Order of the Education Practices Commission entered October 28, 1982, DOAH Case Number 81-3055. (P-22)

       
       

   12. Respondent falsified his application for an extension of his teaching certificate submitted on or about October 23, 1980, in that he failed to disclose pending criminal charges, and prior charges for which adjudication of guilt had been withheld.

       
       

   13. The Department has proved that respondent was convicted of numerous felony offenses for passing worthless bank checks over a period of approximately four years. Conviction of a crime is further grounds for revocation of respondent's teaching certificate.

       
       

   14. Furthermore, petitioner has demonstrated that respondent's criminal conduct has seriously reduced his effectiveness in the school system. Woodward vs. Professional Practices Council, 388 So.2d 343 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980).

       
       

   15. From the foregoing, it is concluded that respondent engaged in conduct prescribed by Section 231.28, in that he is guilty of gross immorality, acts involving moral turpitude, and falsification of his application for an extension of his teaching certificate; he has been convicted of numerous criminal offenses and engaged in conduct which seriously reduce his effectiveness as a teacher in the Dade County school system. In cases similar to this, the Education Practices Commission has revoked the offending teacher's certificate. (See, prior revocation orders included in Petitioner's Exhibit 22.)

   16. The Department's proposed findings of fact are adopted to the extent they are included in this recommended order. Otherwise, they are rejected as unsupported by the evidence or unnecessary to resolution of the issues presented.

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing, it is RECOMMENDED:

That respondent's teacher's certificate be revoked.

DONE AND RECOMMENDED this 16th day of December, 1982, in Tallahassee, Florida.

R. L. CALEEN, JR. Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings The Oakland Building

2009 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 16th day of December, 1982.

ENDNOTE

1/ Petitioner's Exhibits will be referred to as "P-1," "P-2,"

COPIES FURNISHED:

Donald Griesheimer Executive Director Department of Education

Education Practices Commission

125 Knott Building Tallahassee, Florida 32301

J. David Holder, Esquire 203-B South Monroe Street Post Office Box 1694 Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Glensa J. Poole 14521 Pierce Street

Richmond Heights, Florida

Docket for Case No: 82-001559

Orders for Case No: 82-001559