The Issue The issue is whether Respondent's teaching certificate should be disciplined because of Respondent's misconduct.
Findings Of Fact Background and parties Mr. Negedly holds Florida Educator's Certificate 836720, in English, which was valid through June 30, 2008. At all times pertinent, he was employed by the Volusia County School District as a language arts teacher at Heritage Middle School (Heritage). The Department of Education, which was headed by Petitioner at all times material to this case, is the state agency charged with investigating and prosecuting complaints against teachers holding Florida Educator's Certificates. The Education Practices Commission is charged with, among other things, imposing discipline on teachers. The Becker incidents During the 2004-2005 school year, Jami Lynn Becker was a consultation teacher at Heritage. A consultation teacher advises and otherwise aids teachers who have exceptional student education (ESE) pupils in their classes. She ensured that ESE students were provided the accommodations to which they were entitled. Mr. Negedly taught sixth-grade language arts at Heritage. There were three ESE students in his class. Ms. Becker's duties included visiting his class in order to provide services to those three students. On September 16, 2004, immediately before the commencement of classroom activities, Ms. Becker went to Mr. Negedly's room to inquire if he needed any help. During the conversation, Mr. Negedly mentioned that he and his wife had by happenstance seen Ms. Becker driving into New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Ms. Becker related that she was there to receive counseling regarding a recent divorce. Mr. Negedly moved the subject of the conversation to his own marriage and related that he was having problems and was sexually frustrated. He stated that he was having impure thoughts. He suggested that he was willing to engage in a physical relationship with Ms. Becker if she was willing. Ms. Becker was completely shocked by this conversation. Ms. Becker knew Mr. Negedly's wife, Joely Negedly, because she taught at Heritage also, and Ms. Becker suggested that he should direct his intimate conversations to his wife, not her. Mr. Negedly then revealed that he had the same feelings with another teacher, Jaqueline Brame, in the previous year. At that point in the conversation, the school bell rang, students entered the classroom, and Ms. Becker told Mr. Negedly that she would pray for him and then departed for her office. She also made it clear to him that she hoped that this type of conversation would not be repeated. However, that was not to be the case. About 45 minutes later, Mr. Negedly provided Ms. Becker with a note saying that he was sorry if what he said was too much, too fast, and that he hoped that he had provided her with some help. During the seventh period, which was Mr. Negedly's planning period, he came to Ms. Becker's office and renewed the conversations about his sexual frustration and stated that he didn't understand why God intended for man to be with one woman for his entire life. He asked Ms. Becker not to tell others about the conversations. On one or more occasions, Mr. Negedly came into Ms. Becker's office at the end of the school day and talked to her for as long as 45 minutes. Both his presence and his conversations during these times made her feel uncomfortable. Ms. Becker is a self-described non-confrontational person and could not bring herself to tell him to leave. These sort of encounters occurred about seven times over several weeks. Ms. Becker felt that the conversations he initiated were inappropriate. His words made her feel uncomfortable, and she felt that it was necessary for her to take evasive action in order to avoid him and therefore avoid repeat occurrences. She also honored his request not to reveal the nature of his conversations. At some point, Ms. Becker approached Ms. Brame, the person Mr. Negedly had identified as a previous target of his affections, and told Ms. Brame of her experiences. Ms. Brame related her experience with Mr. Negedly, and Ms. Becker ascertained that they were very similar. As a result, Ms. Becker resolved to inform higher authority. This plan was shelved, however, by the intervention of Hurricane Jeanne, which resulted in the suspension of school activities. On September 28, 2004, when school resumed, Mr. Negedly came into her office and after about 45 minutes Ms. Becker told him that his conversation was inappropriate. A few days after that, Ms. Becker reported these events to Mrs. Gunderson, who was an assistant principal and supervisor of ESE. All of these encounters occurred on school grounds. However, there was no evidence that any student observed or heard Mr. Negedly's suggestions. Mr. Negedly never touched Ms. Becker, threatened her person, or used sexually explicit language. His actions disturbed her to the extent that her ability to teach was affected. However, her effectiveness as an employee of the district school board was not seriously compromised. The Brame incidents Jacqueline Brame is currently a teacher at River Springs Middle School in the Volusia County School District and was a teacher at Heritage during all times pertinent to this proceeding. Ms. Brame was Mr. Negedly's mentor when he began teaching at Heritage and worked with him on a sixth-grade team of teachers providing education to the same 150 children. By the beginning of the 2003-2004 school year, Ms. Brame, Mr. Negedly, and Joely Negedly had become close friends. They mingled socially and would visit one another in their homes. Ms. Brame confided in Mr. Negedly, and Ms. Brame described their relationship as "best friends." Ms. Brame was having marital problems, and she shared intimate details about this with Mr. Negedly. She valued his advice and respected his opinions about her problems. After the 2003-2004 school year commenced, Mr. Negedly attempted to move the relationship into a romantic one. He told her that he cared for her deeply and that he was in love with her. These comments made Ms. Brame uncomfortable. She reminded Mr. Negedly that he was married, that she, Ms. Brame, was Mrs. Negedly's friend, and that his son was in her class. This conversation occurred in school, during the school day. He told Ms. Brame that he wanted to have a physical relationship with her. This continued even when Ms. Brame was seven months pregnant. After each advance and rebuff, Mr. Negedly would apologize. His pursuit continued for almost a year. On numerous occasions she would tell him that his advances were unwelcome and inappropriate. Ms. Brame, like Ms. Becker, described herself as someone who did not like confrontation, and she did not firmly tell him that his behavior was unacceptable. Once when Ms. Brame had temporarily abandoned her marital home as the result of a domestic dispute, Mr. Negedly invited her to stay at his home. Ms. Negedly was out of the area at this time because of her duties as a consultant for the college boards, but their children were present in the home. Ms. Brame refused. However, she did not take the invitation to be an invitation for sex. She said that had Ms. Negedly not been away during this time, she might have accepted the invitation. Mr. Negedly's pursuit made Ms. Brame uncomfortable and occasionally sick to her stomach. It adversely affected her emotions and affected her teaching. The events happened in school, in the school cafeteria, and after school, but in connection with school activities. As a result of his unwelcome overtures she had to attend counseling. However, her effectiveness as an employee of the district school board was not seriously reduced or compromised. Eventually Ms. Brame restructured their relationship. She transformed it into a professional friendship and maintained this status through the 2003-2004 school year. At no time during these encounters did Mr. Negedly touch Ms. Brame inappropriately or use sexually explicit language. Most if not all of the encounters occurred on school grounds or in connection with school activities. However, there was no evidence that any student observed or heard Mr. Negedly's overtures. Ms. Brame did not tell anyone in authority about Mr. Negedly's behavior. She cared deeply for Mr. Negedly and his family. She believed remaining silent was her Christian duty. She stated during the hearing that she does not believe he should be removed from the teaching profession. Ms. Brame's allegations surfaced during the investigation into Mr. Negedly's conduct that resulted from Ms. Becker's allegations. The Hepsworth incidents Ms. Kuuleialoha Hepsworth was a teacher's assistant at Heritage during the first semester of 2004. She was in charge of the "lunch club." This informal organization provided lunches to teachers who desired to have their lunch prepared by commercial providers. Ms. Hepsworth would collect money from participating teachers, acquire the food at nearby restaurants, and deliver them to those who had placed orders with her. Once when Mr. Negedly handed her money to be used for purchasing lunch, she claimed he inappropriately brushed the bottom of her hand. Mr. Negedly was the sponsor for the school yearbook and in connection with that duty, he was taking pictures of children in a seventh-period classroom Ms. Hepsworth was teaching. Ms. Hepsworth testified that he said that he was intrigued with her and that "he wanted to pursue her." She said she asked him, "What about your wife?" She said he then asked her if "I would do his wife too, because that would be too cool." Ms. Hepsworth claimed that she was "freaked out." She related that this latter incident occurred on the Friday before Mr. Negedly was removed from the school because of the Becker allegations. She was asked on October 28, 2004, to give a statement to an investigator and that is when she revealed her alleged encounters. The alleged behavior of Mr. Negedly as related by Ms. Hepsworth was so dissimilar to the events related by Ms. Becker and Ms. Brame that it is deemed unworthy of belief. Mr. Negedly Mr. Negedly's targets were women who did not like confrontation and who sought unsuccessfully to communicate their discomfort passively. Had they been confrontational with him, or if they had reported his behavior to higher authority immediately, the behavior could have been corrected locally, and the downward spiral of unpleasantness which has resulted, could have been avoided. On the other hand, these two women may have been selected as targets because of Mr. Negedly's perception that they were unlikely to either harshly react to his overtures or immediately report him to those in authority. Mr. Negedly's certificate expired June 30, 2008. He was employed as a teacher from the beginning of the 2000-2001 school year until the latter part of the school year 2005-2006. Mr. Negedly received a certificate of appreciation for his outstanding dedication to education from the assistant principal of Heritage, on May 7, 2002. All of his performance assessments indicated that he met standards, and he had no disciplinary record prior to the discipline at issue in this case. As previously noted, he was given the additional duty of yearbook sponsor at Heritage. He was also made sponsor of the Junior Beta Club. Heritage Principal Dennis Neal wrote a recommendation dated May 7, 2004, when Mr. Negedly applied for a Stetson University Teacher Scholar Grant that related, "Mr. Negedly continues to demonstrate high professional standards and a dedication to his students' success both in and out of the classroom. He is a valuable team player who can be counted on to go above the norm in all his endeavors. I commend Mr. Negedly on taking on the challenge of an advanced degree and professional growth." When Mr. Negedly was teaching English at David Hinson Middle School, he was chosen teacher of the month for October 2005 by students and teachers. Subsequent to the exposure of Mr. Negedly's transgressions, he attended counseling with his wife at Associated Psychiatric Services in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. As late as April 13, 2005, counseling continued. The counseling was ordered and paid for by the Volusia School District. In January 2005, the school board punished Mr. Negedly by suspending him for five days without pay. As a result of Mr. Negedly's lack of judgment, he was taken from his classroom at Heritage and transferred to the district headquarters; his wife had to obtain a transfer to another school; Mrs. Negedly and her child were the subject of incorrect and hurtful conversations by students, faculty, and others; and Mr. Negedly, who sincerely loved teaching, lost his career.
Recommendation Based upon the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, RECOMMENDED that a final order be entered dismissing the Administrative Complaint. DONE AND ENTERED this 4th day of December, 2008, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. S HARRY L. HOOPER 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 4th day of December, 2008. COPIES FURNISHED: Kathleen M. Richards, Executive Director Education Practices Commission Department of Education 325 West Gaines Street, Room 224 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400 Joan Stewart, Esquire FEA Legal Services 300 East Park Avenue Tallahassee, Florida 32301 Ron Weaver, Esquire Post Office Box 5675 Douglasville, Georgia 30154-0012 Marian Lambeth, Bureau Chief Bureau of Professional Practices Services Department of Education Turlington Building, Suite 224-E 325 West Gaines Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400 Deborah K. Kearney, General Counsel Department of Education Turlington Building, Suite 1244 325 West Gaines Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
The Issue Whether the Education Practices Commission should take disciplinary action against respondent for the reasons alleged in the administrative complaint?
Findings Of Fact Respondent Bobby Leon Murphy holds a Florida teacher's certificate, No. 170876. He began his teaching career in Mobile, Alabama, at Satsuma High School, in 1958. Now 55 years old, he has served as aquatic coordinator for Escambia County and director of the Washington Aquatic Center since June 14, 1982, twelve days before he lost the eldest of his three sons in an automobile accident. Sherman L. Robinson, the black principal of Washington High School, was among the first to learn of the tragedy, and came promptly to the family home to console his friend, "Bobby Lee," as he is known. It was Mr. Robinson to whom Coach Murphy referred, on some ten occasions, in conversations with another employee of Washington Aquatic Center, as a "big nigger" or simply as a "nigger." He once called his principal "just a big nigger trying to throw his weight around." T.102. Wife To Blame Mr. and Mrs. Murphy were with friends at Rosie O'Grady's in Pensacola on April 14, 1968, when a dispute arose between respondent Murphy and another patron. The gentlemen decided to pursue the matter outside. Mr. Murphy landed the first and perhaps only blow before a policeman ended the altercation and placed him under arrest for "assault with hands." Eventually, Mr. Murphy paid a $50.00 fine on account of the incident, or so he testified at hearing. On his application for extension of certificate dated March 24, 1987, after these proceedings began, Mr. Murphy reported that he had been fined $75.00. The application for extension was granted. On three previous applications for teacher's certificates, dated November 16, 1971, July 27, 1973, and April 4, 1983, there was no mention of the arrest. In response to the question, "Have you ever been arrested or involved in a criminal offense other than a minor traffic violation?" the box in front of "No" had been checked on the 1971 and 1973 applications. On the 1983 application, "No" had been checked in response to the question "Have you ever been convicted or had adjudication withheld in a criminal offense other than a minor traffic violation or are there any criminal charges now pending against you other than minor traffic violations?" Petitioner's Exhibit No. 2. Respondent testified that he had not meant to mislead anybody in submitting the applications he did after his arrest and before the present charges were laid. It was just that his wife had filled earlier applications out, he explained, while he himself had completed the most recent and only accurate application. Life at Poolside Mr. Murphy has coached swimming for many years, and enjoys an interstate (Florida and Alabama) reputation as a good swimming coach. Since former Superintendent Stokes named him director of the Washington Aquatic Center, however, his principal duties have been administrative. The Center was built on the campus of Washington High School, but is used by junior and senior high students from other Escambia County schools as well. The office Mr. Murphy occupied at the Center opens onto the pool deck, and the office door is mostly glass. Almost all of the office is visible from outside, but passersby cannot see the corner of the office into which he retreated one day in the summer of 1982, while addressing Susan Lynn Graham, then 18 years old, and the only other occupant of the office. He urged her to join him in the corner and rub her "boobs" against him, but she declined. Ms. Graham was a pool attendant at the time. Mr. Robinson, the principal, had delegated to Mr. Murphy authority to hire and fire pool attendants, young people paid minimum wage to work as lifeguards, and to help with teaching, coaching and keeping the Center clean. Coach Murphy regularly hugged the pool attendants and others, and Ms. Graham was no exception. A witness described these as lateral, as opposed to frontal, hugs. Standing beside the recipient, he placed an arm around his or her shoulders, and pulled, squeezing the near shoulder against the side of his chest. For the most part, these hugs were gestures of friendship, encouragement or commendation, but, in Ms. Graham's case, he whispered into her ear when he hugged her, "I'm going to make love to Sue Graham," or "I'm going to make love to Sue Graham before the summer's over," or "Don't you forget it, baby, or something of the kind. This happened repeatedly. Once, when just the two of them were in his office, he told her he would eat her "pussy," then stuck his tongue out, emitted a "kind of laugh," (T.22) and shook his head. At this, she left the office, shocked and embarrassed, telling him not to say things like that. He seemed to her always to be leering: sometimes he raised his eyebrows. He offered to meet her "any time" at his condominium. (T.24) He once told her he liked watching her jump up and down on the diving board and seeing her bosom bounce. Ms. Graham told co-workers that Mr. Murphy had made passes at her and asked them not to leave her alone with him. When she complained to Mike Haas, however, the Center's assistant director, he seemed to support Mr. Murphy. She decided against reporting Mr. Murphy's attentions to his superiors, and left her job in May of 1983. She "just decided that it was not worth the pressure [she] was under to continue to work there." (T.24) Ann Cobb Palmer had known Mr. Murphy since she was eight years old, maybe even longer. He had been her swimming coach. Hired by respondent as a lifeguard at Washington Aquatic Center, she felt intimidated and degraded one day at work when, in her presence, he said to two young men, Messrs. Haas and Martin, "I wonder what she would be like in bed." (T.70) Eighteen years old at the time, she burst into tears and left his office crying a few days later when, again in her hearing, Coach Murphy told Mike Martin, "I would like to get in her pants." Id. Teresa Hunter Murphy, no relation to the respondent, was a married college graduate when she began working as a swimming instructor at Washington Aquatic Center in the summer of 1982. In October of 1982, as she and Coach Murphy sat in his office, he "stared at [her] crotch and said, mmmmm, I think I could eat on that thing for a few days," (T.96) adding, "[B]aby, we'd have to send out for room service." (T.97) When she expressed dismay at his language and stood up to leave, he asked, "[D]on't you like it?" Id. During the three years or so she worked under respondent's supervision, Ms. Murphy's first marriage deteriorated and eventually came to an end. Coach Murphy, who was aware of her marital problems, said to his assistant Mike Haas, "Mike, Teresa is not getting any, can you handle that[?]" (T.94) Another time, Coach Murphy asked her if she would "go for" dating or having sex with either of the "PE coaches" at Washington High School. Looking at a picture of the Washington High School girls' swim team one day, Coach Murphy pointed out to Ms. Murphy that "several of the girls on the front row had shown through their bathing suits" (T.95) and said it "looked like they had been busted wide open . . . [meaning that they] were not virgins any longer." (T.96) The pool attendants had no guarantee of continued employment and, at least one, Katherine Taylor, was dismissed by Mr. Haas, who said he and Coach Murphy had reached the decision together. At the time, the only explanation he offered was that it was for her benefit. (T.53) At hearing, however, he testified she was fired because she had been unwilling to clean a toilet. Keys to the Condo Coach Murphy hired Julie Ann Halpern Schweitzer, 22 years old and unmarried, to work at the Washington Aquatic Center as a lifeguard in September of 1983. At school board expense, he sent her to a coaching convention in Orlando in the company of his assistant, Mike Haas, Teresa Murphy, and Mike Byrd, who did not work at the Center. Upon their return, Coach Murphy summoned Ms. Halpern, as she then was, to his office. When she arrived, Mike Haas was already there. Coach Murphy asked if anything had happened on the trip, "insinuating hanky-panky and asked Mike Haas if he made a pass at [Ms. Halpern]. Mike Haas said he had tried. But the truth was, he never had tried." (T.42) After more banter in "almost a sick joking manner," Id., Coach Murphy handed some keys to Ms. Halpern, saying, "Julie, these are the keys to my condo. I want you and Mike to go out there and finish your business." (T.43) Mike Haas drove Ms. Halpern to the condominium and, after she declined his invitation to go inside, to Cordova Mall where they bought a birthday card for a boy they worked with, before returning to Washington Aquatic Center. This excursion took place "on Aquatic Center time." (T.47) After it was over, Coach Murphy called them into his office and asked what had happened. When Ms. Halpern told him they had not even gone inside the condominium, "he was upset very . . .silent." (T.45) "[H]e was silent for two days straight. For that whole week, we didn't get much out of him. We had to walk on eggshells." (T.47) This lack of communication made him less effective as an administrator. Many of the young women working under Coach Murphy's supervision avoided him, even though they needed to communicate with him regularly to do their jobs as well as possible. His behavior toward young women impaired his effectiveness as an administrator. New employees were sometimes told to avoid him. Electioneering Ann Cobb Palmer, a pool attendant named Daniel, Katherine Taylor, Teresa Murphy, Mike Haas, Michael T. Martin all were directed by respondent to display signs or make telephone calls on behalf of Charles Stokes, the former superintendent of schools who sought reelection, and did so, many of them on school time, during the fall of 1984. Respondent gave Renee Branum permission to make telephone calls on behalf of the Stokes candidacy on school phones during her working hours. (T.305) Students Not Involved As far as the evidence showed, respondent never propositioned any student or discussed any sexual topic with a student. He testified without contradiction, "I don't even have sex, and I haven't for the past three or four years." (T.295)
