Findings Of Fact At all times pertinent to the allegations herein, Respondent, Alvin H. Dana, held Florida Teaching Certificate 100407 qualifying him in the areas of social studies, guidance, junior college, school psychology, and administration and supervision at the elementary, secondary, and junior college level. During the period pertinent hereto, Respondent was employed as a guidance counselor at TSHS in the Pinellas County School District. He resigned from that position in April, 1987 after having been employed there for the 1986- 1987 school year. During the 1986-1987 school year, Jeffrey Moore, age 16 or 17, was an 11th grade student at TSHS. In early April, 1987, Nancy Zambito, Director of School Operations for Areas 1 and 2 of the Pinellas County Schools, and previously Director of personnel Services for the District, received a phone call from a school board member who related that he had received a call from a minister who had related to him that a student at TSHS, Jeff Moore, had a sexual encounter with the guidance counselor at that school, Alvin Dana. Ms. Zambito met with the student, who now resides in Tennessee and who did not testify at the hearing, and his mother on April 6, 1987. During the conversation, Moore stated he had gone in to talk with the Respondent because his parents were in the process of getting a divorce and because he was having some problems with his own sexual identity, a condition not further explained. During this conversation, Respondent allegedly mentioned a bar in Dunedin which Moore knew to be a gay bar. At this point, Moore had to leave Respondent's office to go back to class, and Respondent allegedly asked him to meet him after school, which Moore did. When they met, according to Moore, Dana took him to his, Dana's, apartment, which Moore described, gave him a drink, and then initiated sexual contact with him by kissing him. Moore relates they went into the bedroom and had a sexual relationship. Afterward he claims, they cleaned up, had dinner at a restaurant, and then went to a bar where they had a beer. At about 8:30 P.M., Respondent returned Moore to his own car to go home. That was the only sexual encounter they had, but Respondent allegedly talked to Moore about going with him to Jacksonville. After meeting with Moore and his mother, that same day Ms. Zambito met with Respondent in the principal's office along with the Area 1 Supervisor, the Principal, and a union representative. During the meeting, which, according to Ms. Zambito, took between 45 minutes and an hour, she asked all the questions and in no way, she claims, attempted to place any influence or pressure on Respondent. She explained the complaint from Moore to Dana without telling him who the student was. It was obvious to her, however, that Respondent knew who the student was and, in fact, named him, but denied any improprieties with Moore who, according to Dana, had accused his own pastor of being gay. Ms. Zambito states that Respondent later admitted to her that he had taken Moore to the bar and to his apartment and had provided alcohol to him, in addition to admitting to a sexual relationship with the student. As to that aspect, she claims, Dana contended Moore was the aggressor. Mr. Coe, the Principal, and Mr. Kreiver, the Area Superintendent, who were both present at the meeting with Dana, tend to support Ms. Zambito's testimony. Both claim Dana admitted to having an "affair" or "sexual relationship" with Moore when she confronted him. As a result of this conversation, Ms. Zambito advised Respondent she would report the information to the Superintendent at which point, Respondent indicated he would resign. In fact, Respondent did resign the next day before Ms. Zambito could contact the superintendent. However, she prepared a memorandum of the conference, and mailed the original to the Respondent at his address of record. Ms. Zambito is not sure he received it, but it was not returned. Respondent denies having received it. On September 11, 1987, Mr. Dana pled nolo contendere in the County Court of Pinellas County to one charge of child abuse by furnishing Moore with alcoholic beverages. He was ordered to pay a fine of $250.00 and, inter alia, directed to not engage in teaching or in any other profession where minors will be without disclosure of the conviction to proper authorities. Respondent was a teacher in Sarasota County for ten years and served as a college registrar for seventeen years before his one year in the Pinellas County schools. In all his twenty-eight years in education, he has never been accused of improprieties with students and denies being either bisexual or homosexual. Dana admits to pleading nolo contendere to providing alcohol to a minor and understands that he was found guilty. However, as to the incident in question, he relates a somewhat different story than that reported by Ms. Zambito. He contends that one school day Moore came to him as guidance counselor and related he was having a sexual identity problem, describing himself as a "flaming faggot." Moore said he was considering running away and told Respondent stories of sexual relations he had had with someone in Port Richey at a MacDonald's restaurant. He also mentioned a place in Dunedin where he would go for sex with men. As a result of his conversation with the boy, Respondent feels he convinced him not to run away. After school that day, however, Moore was waiting for him in the parking lot and stated that he needed to talk with him more. Respondent agreed and they went to a restaurant and to a bar where they had two beers for which Respondent paid. On cross examination, Mr. Dana admitted that he took Moore to two bars, The Pro Shop and The Flamingo, both of which were gay bars, and at both of which he bought Moore a beer. According to Dana, the bars were chosen by Moore and Dana did not know they were gay oriented. While admitting to going to the bars and the restaurant with Moore, he denies going to his apartment or to Moore's house. On rebuttal, Ms. Zambito claims he admitted having been in Moore's house in response to her questions. Mr. Kriever recalls this as well. Respondent asserts there was no more to the relationship than his taking the boy for two drinks and while he admits he made a mistake in going with Moore and admits to paying for his beer, he unequivocally states he refused any attempts at sex initiated by Moore and claims none took place. Dana's story of the meeting with Ms. Zambito is somewhat different than hers. He recalls it as lasting ten minutes at the most as opposed to the forty-five minutes to an hour as she stated. He relates she suggested to him that he resign in lieu of being not reappointed the following year. He admitted to her that he went to the bar with Moore and admitted to a "relationship" with him but denies the relationship was sexual in nature, that he told her it was, or that he, at any time, ever had a sexual relation with any student. Dana admits that going to the bar with Moore was stupid but claims he went there out of curiosity. Moore is a very persuasive young man who claimed he wanted to be a journalist. When Moore called himself a flaming faggot, curiosity prompted Dana to go to the bar with him. This is a weak rationalization which does Respondent's position no good. Dana contends he had one or two previous visits with Moore, one of which involved Moore's mother. He believes Moore exaggerates and fantasizes. He describes Moore as a bright, articulate, convincing and conniving individual, and relates he was taken in by Moore's statement of need. Respondent claims Ms. Zambito never asked him if he had had sexual relations with Moore. She asked if he knew the student or could identify any student who would have made such allegations against him. Her questions were general in nature and he does not believe he would have admitted to any acts of sexual misconduct with Moore since he claims he committed none. According to Mr. Kriever, when confronted with the allegations against him, Respondent initially appeared shocked and denied the relationship. Later, he said it was forced upon him and finally, he admitted to a sexual relationship with Moore. The principal, Mr. Coe, related, however, that Dana did not deny the allegations but admitted to a "relationship" with Moore without Ms. Zambito even identifying him by name. These responses come to easily and are far too indefinite to be controlling. If the allegations against Dana are accurate, he would be ineffective in any position in the school district. Educators hold positions of trust and Respondent's actions, if established, constitute a forfeiture of this trust. In the opinion of the principal, Mr. Coe, as a guidance counselor, Dana holds a position of trust which this misconduct clearly violates. The same would be true regarding Respondent's status as a teacher. The trust that administrators and parents must place in anyone in education has been violated by Respondent's misconduct and Respondent could not serve within the system. All the evidence, except Respondent's testimony is in the form of hearsay testimony. Moore did not testify. Other than Respondent, no one who testified was privy to the conversations and relationships between the two or saw them together away from the school grounds. In the instant case, the only evidence that Respondent engaged in sexual activity with Moore comes from the hearsay comments made to Ms. Zambito by Moore who was not present at the hearing. Ms. Zambito's testimony as to Respondent's alleged admissions to a sexual relationship is, to a great degree, con- firmed by that of Coe and Kriever. On the other hand, Respondent unequivocally denies having had a sexual relationship with Moore. This is direct evidence from a party in interest. Considering the evidence as a whole, therefore, it is found that Respondent did provide alcoholic beverages to Moore, a minor, and he showed extremely poor judgement in engaging in an unchaperoned social relationship with a student outside of the school environment and outside of school hours, but the evidence is insufficient to find that he engaged in homosexual activity with him.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is, therefore: RECOMMENDED that Respondent's Florida Teaching Certificate be revoked for a period of three years. RECOMMENDED this 10th day of November, 1988, at Tallahassee, Florida. ARNOLD H. POLLOCK Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings The Oakland Building 2009 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1550 (904) 488-9675 Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 10th day of November, 1988. APPENDIX TO RECOMMENDED ORDER, CASE NO. 88-2475 The following constitutes my specific rulings pursuant to Section 120.59(2), Florida Statutes, on all of the proposed Findings of Fact submitted by the parties to this case. For the Petitioner: 1- 3. Accepted and incorporated herein. 4. Accepted and incorporated herein. 5. Accepted and incorporated herein except for the allegation that Respondent admitted to having sex with the student, which was not proven. 6. Accepted as a recitation of what the student told Ms. Zambito but not as dispositive of the issue. Further, the meeting took place not on April 27, 1987 but on the same day as Ms. Zambito's meeting with Respondent. 7. Accepted and incorporated herein. 8. Rejected as a recitation of testimony and not a Finding of Fact. 9. & 10. Rejected as it pertains to disregarding Respondent's denials. Balance rejected as a recitation of testimony and not a Finding of Fact. 11. & 12. Rejected 13. Accepted and incorporated herein For the Respondent Respondent claims his recitation of the facts is interwoven with his argument. Since they cannot be identified with specificity, they are not addressed individually. COPIES FURNISHED: J. David Holder, Esquire 325 John Knox Road Building C, Number 135 Tallahassee, Florida 32303 Lawrence D. Black, Esquire 152 8th Avenue Southwest Largo, Florida 34640 Honorable Betty Castor Commissioner of Education The Capitol Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400 Sydney H. McKenzie, Esquire General Counsel Department of Education Knott Building Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
Findings Of Fact Richard L. Wahl submitted an application for an instructional position in the Pinellas County school system on December 5, 1973 (Exhibit 10), and was subsequently hired in 1974 to teach middle grade science. In Section IX of his application (Exhibit 10) Question 8 asking if he had ever been convicted of a misdemeanor, felony, or offense involving moral turpitude was left blank. By application dated January 3, 1984 (Exhibit 1), for certification by the State Department of Education as a general science teacher, in Section V inquiring if the applicant had ever been arrested or involved in a criminal offense, Wahl checked the "yes," gave the date and place of arrest for the offense of larceny-misdemeanor, and showed the disposition as "convicted conviction set aside" with notation "(see enclosures)." No enclosures were attached to Exhibit 1. By order of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana dated October 25, 1973 (Exhibit 3), Wahl's conviction entered December 15, 1972, was set aside and he was unconditionally discharged from probation. The conviction was for larceny of coins from coin changing machines at a bank where Wahl worked as supervisor, night maintenance (Exhibit 9). Wahl started teaching in Pinellas County schools in 1974 and continued until he was suspended in 1984. During this period he had no evaluation less than satisfactory. He was liked and respected by his peers who considered him to be a very good science teacher. Respondent and his first wife, Shirley Jones, were divorced in 1975 and have one daughter. Respondent, shortly after his divorce from Shirley, married his present wife who had a nine or ten year old daughter by a previous marriage. The daughter, Lisa Beck, lived with her mother. In 1978 Respondent began "tucking in" Lisa when she went to bed. On occasion he rubbed her back. This led to rubbing her buttocks and subsequently her vaginal area. On occasion Respondent placed his genitals in contact with Lisa's genitals, but no intercourse was attempted or contemplated by Respondent. This went on for several weeks on an irregular basis in late 1978. At this time Lisa was 10 or 11 years old. Respondent initially thought Lisa enjoyed the incidents or at least did not object until Lisa finally told him she wished he wouldn't do that. From that time forward no further abuse by Respondent of Lisa occurred. Some five years later Lisa told her mother that Respondent had fondled her, the mother told the Bishop of her church, and the Bishop accosted Respondent with the charge. Respondent readily admitted the incident to the Bishop and he and his wife were referred to a Family Services program run by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services with this problem as well as with other marital problems they were having. Respondent, his wife, and Lisa voluntarily participated in family counseling to improve the family relationship. After family counseling had begun Respondent was contacted by a detective in the St. Petersburg Police Department to ask him about his earlier fondling of Lisa. Again, Respondent readily admitted his transgressions. Word that a teacher was being investigated filtered back to the school system and the investigation leading to the charges here involved began. Two short articles appeared in the inside pages of the St. Petersburg Times on January 30, 1984, and July 20, 1984, reporting the allegations of child molestation made against Wahl and of his suspension without pay from his position as a teacher. Respondent was subsequently brought to trial on a charge of handling and fondling a child under the age of 14, to which he pleaded nolo contendere, adjudication of guilt was withheld and Respondent was placed on five years probation (Exhibit 7). Subsequent to his divorce from Shirley Jones, which was an acrimonious one, Respondent has been sued by Jones when late on child support payments and has had difficulty in visitation rights with his daughter by that marriage. Jones, who apparently has also remarried, has attempted to induce Respondent to allow his daughter to be adopted which, so far, Respondent has refused. Following publication of the allegations involving Respondent's stepdaughter, Shirley Jones advised Petitioner that Wahl had in 1972 molested Jones' then 14 year old sister and that he had been convicted of larceny in Indiana in 1972. Shirley Jones' sister, Leslie Miskove, now 26 years old and married, testified that while she was visiting her sister, then married to Respondent, Wahl, on two occasions, touched her genital area. According to Miskove the first incident occurred while she and Wahl were lying on a couch watching television and Wahl touched her vaginal area with his hand. At this time her sister was in the bedroom. Miskove did not say anything to Wahl nor did she tell her sister. The second incident occurred while enroute to Florida. While Shirley and her baby were asleep on the back seat, Wahl was driving, and Miskove was lying on the front seat with her head on Wahl's leg. According to Miskove, Wahl put his hand inside her pants and inserted a finger in her vagina. Again she did not say anything and his hand remained inside her pants until she sat up a short time later. After Shirley Jones told Miskove about the child molestation charge against Wahl, which was filed in 1984, Miskove first revealed the 1972 incidents to her sister. Respondent denies either of those incidents occurred. No evidence was presented of any improper conduct involving Respondent with any of his students; and his principal did not consider Respondent a threat to any of the girls at his school even after he became aware of the charges against Respondent then being investigated. Exhibit 11, the deposition of Dr. Machler, was admitted as a late- filed exhibit. Several days after the transcript arrived but Exhibit 11 had not, a telephone call to the attorney revealed that he thought the original had been sent but that a second copy would be forwarded. Accordingly, all of the above findings were made without the benefit of the expert testimony contained in Exhibit 11. Dr. Machler's opinion of Respondent, based upon his psychiatric evaluation and counseling involving eight sessions for a total of five or six hours, is that Respondent is not now, and never has been, a pedophile; that Respondent is an honest, sincere individual who truly enjoys and strives to excel at, his role as a teacher; that Respondent is a passive aggressive person who has been intimidated by his two wives; that his current wife's rejection coupled with the proximity of Lisa as an extension of his wife, led to the fondling of Lisa; that this was an isolated situation and is unlikely to ever recur; that Respondent has never been a threat to female pupils in his classes and is not likely ever to be such a threat; and that the embarrassment and indignities brought on by these charges will make Respondent more circumspect than ever in the classroom because now he will feel like he is living in a fishbowl. Dr. Machler's deposition further confirms the Hearing Officer's conclusion that someone in the HRS Department of Family Services reported to the police the transgressions involving Respondent and Lisa when the family went to them for counseling after Lisa had disclosed the incidents to her mother and Respondent admitted they occurred. The conclusions of law were also prepared before Exhibit 11 was read by this Hearing Officer.
The Issue Whether Respondent violated sections 1012.795(1)(c), (g) and (j), Florida Statutes (2010),1/ and Florida Administrative Code Rule 6B-1.006(3)(a), as alleged in the Administrative Complaint, and, if so, what discipline should be imposed.
Findings Of Fact Mr. Ferrier holds Florida Educator’s Certificate 864022, covering the areas of educational leadership, elementary education, and middle grades integrated curriculum, which is valid through June 30, 2012. At all times pertinent to this case, Mr. Ferrier was employed as a teacher at either Pinellas Park Middle School (Pinellas Park) or Seminole Middle School (Seminole) in the Pinellas County School District (School District). Petitioner, Dr. Eric Smith, at all times pertinent to this case, is acting as the Florida Commissioner of Education, pursuant to his authority in section 1012.796(6). Mr. Ferrier began teaching at Pinellas Park in the 2006- 2007 school year. The record shows by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Ferrier’s performance during the three school years, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, and 2008-2009, was characterized by a lack of organization, failure to effectively communicate with parents and students, failure to provide students with grades and collect school work, and discord. Ms. Gorman, an assistant principal for Pinellas Park, was Mr. Ferrier’s immediate supervisor. She evaluated Mr. Ferrier’s performance for the three years that he taught at Pinellas Park. Ms. Gorman’s first evaluation of Mr. Ferrier for the 2006-2007 school year shows that he earned a score of "1" which indicates Mr. Ferrier was satisfactory. A rating less than level "1" is deemed unsatisfactory. Further, the 2006-2007 evaluation shows that Ms. Gorman expected Mr. Ferrier to make progress in 11 out of 23 areas she assessed in the evaluation. The evaluation form contained 25 areas for assessment. Mr. Ferrier’s evaluation shows that Ms. Gorman left two assessment areas blank. For the 2007-2008 school year, Ms. Gorman rated Mr. Ferrier at a level "2" with progress expected in 10 of the 25 areas assessed. Mr. Ferrier’s 2007-2008 evaluation showed that he was satisfactory. For the 2008-2009 school year, Ms. Gorman rated Mr. Ferrier as not meeting the minimum expectations for teaching. Out of the 25 measured categories, Ms. Gorman rated Mr. Ferrier as not meeting expectation in 17 categories. Mr. Ferrier failed to meet expectations for subject knowledge; instructional method; respect for students, parents, and colleagues; engaging students; and use of technology in the classroom. Mr. Ferrier’s tenure at Pinellas Park was also characterized by repeated failures to answer calls made by parents, disorganization, poor attendance at meetings, arriving to school and classes late, and not acting as a professional in dealing with colleagues. Ms. Witcher, the Pinellas Park principal, provided credible testimony showing Mr. Ferrier’s disorganization and propensity for arriving late to school. For example, in the 2008-2009 school year, on the first day of school for returning teachers, Mr. Ferrier arrived at noon as opposed to 8:30 a.m. When asked by Ms. Witcher why he was late, Mr. Ferrier explained that he did not know that school began on that date. Mr. Ferrier’s tardiness was indicative of his behavior. Ms. Witcher clearly testified that on a "few occasions during the first and second year . . . he was so tardy, I had to go down and open the classroom door, let the kids in and wait for him." The record clearly also shows that Mr. Ferrier failed to be responsive to parent concerns about their children. Ms. Northcutt, the guidance counselor for Pinellas Park, provided credible testimony showing that Mr. Ferrier failed to return parent phone calls, failed to attend parent-teacher meetings, and, if Mr. Ferrier did attend the meeting, he was disorganized and unprepared. The frequency of parents calling Ms. Northcutt to ask Mr. Ferrier to contact them became so great that she "felt almost like a personal secretary to Mr. Ferrier," asking him to return phone calls. In addition to being unresponsive to phone calls, the record clearly shows, through Ms. Northcutt’s testimony and e-mails admitted into evidence, that Mr. Ferrier either failed to show up for parent-teacher conferences, or was late and unprepared if he did attend the conference. Parents would contact Ms. Northcutt in her capacity as the guidance counselor because the parents had concerns about Mr. Ferrier’s teaching and grading. Mr. Ferrier would routinely fail to timely enter grades of assignments into the computer system so that parents could check their child’s progress. The record clearly shows that Mr. Ferrier lacked insight into his professional shortcomings. The record clearly showed that Mr. Ferrier was offered assistance to help him become an organized and effective teacher, but failed to avail himself of the assistance. Further, Mr. Ferrier objected to Ms. Witcher’s direction that he not coach the volleyball team and concentrate on teaching. In response to this directive, Mr. Ferrier encouraged parents of the volleyball players to contact Ms. Witcher to change her decision. The record also shows that, during Mr. Ferrier’s tenure at Pinellas Park, he did not act as a professional in dealing with colleagues. This finding is based on the events concerning Mr. Ferrier’s placement on administrative leave while the School District investigated him for bullying a co-worker, and his subsequent action after returning from administrative leave. Ms. Northcutt credibly testified that, based on Mr. Ferrier’s repeated failures to either attend parent-teacher conferences or be on time for them, she began to document these actions and inform Ms. Witcher. At one parent-teacher conference, Ms. Northcutt noted that Mr. Ferrier arrived late, although the parents had not yet arrived. Mr. Ferrier told Ms. Northcutt to note that he had arrived on time, which she replied that he was still late. Two other teachers, who were to attend the conference, also arrived late. One of the teachers had permission due to a conflict, and the other teacher arrived after attending another conference. Mr. Ferrier demanded that Ms. Northcutt report the two teachers as late. Ms. Northcutt credibly testified that she felt threatened and intimidated by Mr. Ferrier’s confrontational behavior. She reported the incident to Ms. Witcher, who referred the incident to the School District, and an investigation was begun. The School District placed Mr. Ferrier on administrative leave, and Ms. Witcher informed Mr. Ferrier that he was to leave the campus quietly. As Mr. Ferrier was leaving the campus, he told everyone that he encountered that he was accused of bullying and that he would return. Ms. Witcher felt that Mr. Ferrier’s actions were divisive and sought to undermine her new administration at the school. When Mr. Ferrier returned to the school from the administrative leave, Mr. Lott, the School District’s administrator for the Office of Professional Standards, informed Mr. Ferrier to be very careful in his interactions with Ms. Northcutt. Within two days of his return, Mr. Ferrier sent all of the Pinellas Park personnel an e-mail stating that he had been wrongly accused of bullying and that he had been exonerated. Mr. Lott found this action to be inappropriate and a continuation of Mr. Ferrier’s efforts to bully Ms. Northcutt. Consequently, based on this action, Mr. Ferrier received a written reprimand and was involuntarily transferred from Pinellas Park to Seminole. The purpose of transferring Mr. Ferrier to Seminole was to provide him with a fresh start. Unfortunately, the record clearly shows that Mr. Ferrier’s short tenure at Seminole was again characterized by ineffective teaching, lack of knowledge of materials he was expected to teach, lack of communication with parents, tardiness, and failure to follow directions to become an effective teacher. Mr. Lechner, the principal at Seminole, assigned Mr. Ferrier to teach regular science classes and three advanced honor science classes. The parents at Seminole are actively involved in their children’s education. Thus, many of Mr. Ferrier’s short-comings were quickly brought to the attention of Mr. Lechner. The record shows that Mr. Lechner was pro-active in assessing Mr. Ferrier’s teaching, offering Mr. Ferrier assistance to become an effective teacher, and ultimately removing Mr. Ferrier from the classroom. The record clearly shows that Mr. Ferrier failed to carry out his duties as a teacher. Specifically, the evidence clearly showed the following instances: Mr. Ferrier was disorganized in the classroom. Mr. Ferrier’s disorganization in the classroom was apparent from the very beginning of his tenure at Seminole. During an open house for parents, Mr. Ferrier, in addressing parents of honor students, did not have a syllabus for the class, pointed out text books that he stated the class probably would not use, and discussed at length discipline issues with the parents. The record shows, however, that honor students typically did not cause discipline problems. Mr. Ferrier’s disorganization quickly led students to becoming frustrated in the classroom and parents complaining to Mr. Lechner. Further, this disorganization was reflected in Mr. Ferrier’s losing assignments, failing to properly log grades into the school computer system so that parents could access the grades, and losing test results. Mr. Ferrier’s disorganization in the classroom was further documented by Mr. Lechner, who placed Mr. Ferrier on a Professional Service Contract Probation for 90 days during the school year, beginning on September 28, 2009. Mr. Lechner conducted personal observations of Mr. Ferrier’s instruction and found it disorganized, confusing, and resulting in students becoming frustrated. Mr. Lechner gave Mr. Ferrier specific instructions on how to improve his teaching, but Mr. Ferrier failed to follow the instructions. Mr. Ferrier continued to be tardy to class and miss important faculty meetings. The record shows through Mr. Lechner’s testimony that Mr. Ferrier missed the teachers’ mandatory first professional learning community meeting. Although Mr. Lechner could not remember the reason that Mr. Ferrier gave for missing the meeting, Mr. Lechner testified that Mr. Ferrier "always had an excuse." Based on Mr. Lechner’s answer, it was clear that Mr. Ferrier made excuses for his failures, as opposed to acknowledging his mistakes. The record further showed that Mr. Ferrier’s tardiness often would extend into the day. The testimony showed that Mr. Ferrier would leave campus and return from lunch 15 minutes late, thus, delaying instruction. As a result of Mr. Ferrier’s habitual tardiness, Mr. Lechner required Mr. Ferrier to use a sign-in and sign-out log. Mr. Ferrier used ineffective instructional methods and did not have a grasp of the material that he was to teach. The parents and students, who testified, were unanimous in their consensus that Mr. Ferrier failed to teach anything. Mr. Ferrier’s failure to teach resulted in one student having to "steal" one of the text books that Mr. Ferrier was not using and teach herself physical science. Further, the testimony was clear that, after Mr. Ferrier was relieved of his teaching duties, the students had to "cram" a year’s worth of science into half a school year. In essence, Mr. Ferrier cheated the students out of an education. The conclusion that Mr. Ferrier used ineffective instructional methods and did not have a grasp of the material that he was to teach is supported by the testimony of Ms. Lamy and Mr. Lechner. The record clearly showed that Mr. Ferrier used "bell work" for a significant period of the teaching time. "Bell work" was defined as work given to students for the first few minutes of class to engage them immediately. Ms. Lamy, who was the School District’s supervisor for secondary science, conducted an in-classroom observation of Mr. Ferrier’s teaching at Seminole. Ms. Lamy noted that Mr. Ferrier used "bell work" for almost the entire class time. As a result, Mr. Ferrier did not teach. Further, Ms. Lamy observed that Mr. Ferrier did not have control of his class and did not have an adequate lesson plan. Based on her observations, Ms. Lamy made recommendations for Mr. Ferrier on handling the classroom and preparing lesson plans. Unfortunately, the record shows that Mr. Ferrier did not take full advantage of the help being offered to him. Mr. Lechner’s testimony also provided examples from classroom observations that demonstrated Mr. Ferrier’s poor instructional methods and lack of understanding of the material he was supposed to teach. For example, Mr. Lechner described a laboratory experiment conducted by Mr. Ferrier. Mr. Ferrier attempted to conduct an experiment demonstrating how an object could change physical states by melting a candy bar. During the experiment, Mr. Ferrier did not use safety gloves when attempting to melt the chocolate bar. Because the chocolate bar did not melt quickly, Mr. Ferrier left the experiment and never came back to it or the concept behind the experiment. According to Mr. Lechner, Mr. Ferrier modeled poor safety for the students by not using safety gloves and leaving the flame on the candy bar while he moved to another subject, and Mr. Ferrier did not teach the concept behind the experiment. The record showed that Mr. Ferrier would use ineffective methods to teach, such as relying on videos. In one instance, Mr. Ferrier used videos of Michael Jackson and throwing a wadded-up piece of paper in order to demonstrate motion. Finally, in December 2009, during an observation, Mr. Lechner observed Mr. Ferrier teach the students a wrong formula concerning distance over time, which was not corrected until the error was pointed out by a student. Mr. Ferrier did not manage work assignments and tests and failed to properly record grades. The record shows that students would turn in work, but the work would not be graded or posted into the school’s computer system so that parents and students could access the information. Further, parents and students complained to Mr. Lechner about erroneous grades, missing grades or assignments, or no grades for tests that had been completed, as well as grades which were either excessively high or excessively low. Mr. Ferrier failed to respond to parental inquiries and was unprepared and untimely when attending parent-teacher meetings. One parent testified about attending a parent-teacher conference, with Mr. Lechner, where Mr. Ferrier failed to show up. Mr. Ferrier’s disorganization resulted in him failing to turn students’ answer sheets for mandatory progress monitoring tests into the district office. As Ms. Lamy explained, the state required school districts to turn in students’ answer sheets from the test to the Department by December 15, 2010. When the School District started receiving feedback from the tests, Ms. Lamy learned that Mr. Ferrier had not turned in the answer sheets. Subsequently, Mr. Ferrier turned in the answer sheets on or near January 6, 2011. Based on Mr. Ferrier’s actions, the School District was not in compliance with the state-ordered mandate. On January 19, 2011, after the 90-day probation period, Mr. Lechner evaluated Mr. Ferrier as not meeting the minimum expectations for teaching. Mr. Ferrier did not meet expectations in 23 of 25 categories, including the areas of subject knowledge, instructional methods, respect for students and parents, engaging students, use of technology, classroom discipline, and organization. Further, Mr. Lechner noted, based on his observations, that Mr. Ferrier continued to be disorganized, his directions were not clear, he was causing confusion, and he was returning papers to students without feedback. The record shows that well into the 90-day probation Mr. Ferrier finally sought assistance, at the insistence of Mr. Lechner, from the Professional Development and Improvement Network to help him become a better teacher. Unfortunately, the record shows that Mr. Ferrier’s teaching ability did not improve and that he continued with many of the same problems that he had at Pinellas Park. The record shows that Mr. Ferrier has no prior disciplinary history with the Florida Education Practices Commission.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that a final order be entered finding that Mr. Ferrier violated sections 1012.795(1)(c), 1012.795(1)(g), and 1012.795(1)(j) and rules 6B-1.006(3)(a) and that Mr. Ferrier’s educator’s certificate be revoked for two years followed by a period of three years’ probation under terms and conditions deemed appropriate. DONE AND ENTERED this 9th day of March, 2012, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. S THOMAS P. CRAPPS Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 9th day of March, 2012.
The Issue The issue for determination is whether Respondent committed the offenses set forth in the Amended Administrative Complaint and, if so, what action should be taken.
Findings Of Fact Ms. Maynard has a Bachelor of Science degree in Education (K-6) and a Master of Arts degree in Teaching (Special Education). Her prior teaching experience includes teaching in the United States, Korea, and Japan. Ms. Maynard began her employment with the School Board as a substitute teacher. She was a substitute teacher for approximately six years. In the Summer of 2004, Ms. Maynard was hired to teach at the Pompano Beach Elementary School (Pompano Beach Elementary). However, Pompano Beach Elementary had over-hired, and she was surplused-out to Cypress Elementary School (Cypress Elementary). For the 2004-2005 school year, Ms. Maynard began at Cypress Elementary as a kindergarten teacher. For the 2005-2006 school year, Ms. Maynard was reassigned as an elementary teacher at Cypress Elementary. The parties agree that the relevant time period in the instant case is the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years. No dispute exists that, at all times material hereto, Ms. Maynard was an instructional employee, a third grade teacher, with the School Board at Cypress Elementary. On April 7, 2006, Ms. Maynard received a written reprimand from Cypress Elementary's Assistant Principal, Barbara Castiglione (now, Barbara Castiglione-Rothman). The basis for the disciplinary action was Ms. Maynard's failure, twice, to comply with a directive from Ms. Castiglione--Ms. Maynard was requested to report to an academic meeting with Ms. Castiglione. Among other things, Ms. Maynard was advised that her failure to perform to the standards established for the effective and productive performance of her job duties would result in further disciplinary action up to and including a recommendation for termination of employment. A copy of the written reprimand was provided to Ms. Maynard. Ms. Maynard contended that she was not refusing to attend the meetings but wanted to meet with Ms. Castiglione when a witness of her own choosing could attend. Ms. Maynard wanted a witness to be present at the meetings because she viewed the meetings as disciplinary meetings even though Ms. Castiglione indicated that the meetings were not disciplinary meetings. Additionally, on April 7, 2006, Ms. Maynard made a written request for a transfer from Cypress Elementary. The type of transfer requested by Ms. Maynard was "Regular."2 Cypress Elementary's principal, Louise Portman, signed the request. The principal's signature, as well as the requester's signature, was required. No transfer occurred. PMPs During the 2006-2007 School Year Through School Board policy, implementing a Legislative mandate, all teachers at Cypress Elementary were required to develop an individualized progress monitoring plan (PMP) for each student, who was deficient in reading, in consultation with the student's parent(s). Data for the PMP were collected through reading assessments at the beginning of the school year to establish a student's reading level. The appropriate reading program for the student would be decided upon using the data. Also, who was going to teach the reading program would be decided. The PMP, among other things, identified the student's reading deficiency and set forth the plan to remediate the deficiency and enhance the student's achievement in reading, which included the proposed supplemental instruction services that would be provided to the student. PMPs were generated usually two to three weeks after the beginning of the school year. A copy of the PMP was provided to the student's parent(s). The PMP was referred to as a "living, fluid document." It was not unusual for PMPs to reflect interventions not being used at the time, i.e., it was permissible for PMPs to reflect interventions that were to be used during the school year. Further, the wording current on a PMP referred to interventions during the current school year, not necessarily at that time. PMPs were modified throughout the school year on an as needed basis depending upon a student's progress. On or about September 29, 2006, Ms. Portman advised Ms. Maynard that Ms. Maynard's PMPs must be deleted because the interventions listed on the PMPs were not on the Struggling Readers Chart and were, therefore, invalid. The Struggling Readers Chart was developed by the Florida Department of Education (DOE) and contained interventions approved by DOE. Cypress Elementary had a Reading Coach, Jennifer Murphins. Ms. Murphins advised Ms. Maynard that, in order to delete the PMPs, a list of the students, who were on the PMPs, was needed so that Ms. Murphins could provide the names to the person in the school district who was authorized to delete the PMPs. Further, Ms. Murphins advised Ms. Maynard that, once the PMPs were deleted, Ms. Maynard could input valid interventions for the students. The School Board's Curriculum Administrator, Mark Quintana, Ph.D., was the person who was designated to delete PMPs. It was not unusual for Dr. Quintana to receive a telephone call from a school to delete information from PMPs-- the request must originate from the school. Ms. Maynard resisted the deletion of the PMPs and refused to delete them time and time again. She suggested, instead, not deleting the PMPs, but preparing updated PMPs and sending both to the students' parents. Her belief was that she could not put proposed interventions on the PMPs, but that she was required to only include interventions that were actually being used with the students at the time. Even though Ms. Maynard was advised by Ms. Portman that proposed interventions could be included on PMPs, Ms. Maynard still refused to provide Ms. Murphins with the list of the students. Furthermore, Ms. Maynard insisted that including interventions not yet provided, but to be provided, on the PMPs was contrary to Florida's Meta Consent Agreement. She had not read the Meta Consent Agreement and was unable to provide Ms. Portman with a provision of the Meta Consent Agreement that supported a contradiction. Ms. Portman directed Ms. Murphins to contact Dr. Quintana to delete the PMPs for Ms. Maynard's students. Ms. Murphins did as she was directed. The PMPs were deleted. On or about October 5, 2006, Ms. Maynard notified Ms. Portman by email that a complaint against Ms. Portman was filed by her with DOE regarding, among other things, the changing of the PMPs and the denying to her students equal access to the reading curriculum and trained professionals. On or about October 30, 2006, Ms. Castiglione sent a directive by email to all teachers regarding, among other things, placing PMPs and letters to parents in the students' report card envelopes. Ms. Maynard refused to comply with Ms. Castiglione's directive because, among other things, the students' PMPs for Ms. Maynard had been deleted and to rewrite the PMPs with interventions that were not actually used by the students was considered falsifying legal documents by Ms. Maynard. On or about October 31, 2006, Ms. Portman directed Ms. Maynard to rewrite the PMPs. Ms. Maynard continued to refuse to obey Ms. Portman's directive. Around November 2006, Ms. Maynard lodged "concerns" about Ms. Portman with the School Board's North Area Superintendent, Joanne Harrison, Ed.D., regarding the PMPs and the instruction of English Language Learners (ELL). Dr. Harrison requested Dr. Quintana and Sayra Hughes, Executive Director of Bilingual/Foreign Language/ESOL Education, to investigate the matter. Dr. Quintana investigated and prepared the report on the PMP concerns, which included findings by Dr. Quintana as to Ms. Maynard's concerns. Ms. Hughes investigated and prepared the report on the ELL concerns, which included findings by Ms. Hughes as to Ms. Maynard's concerns. Dr. Harrison provided a copy of both reports to Ms. Maynard. Included in the findings by Dr. Quintana were: (a) that a school's administration requesting the deletion of PMPs was appropriate; (b) that PMPs are intended to document support programming that was to occur during the school year; (c) that including a support program that was not initially implemented, but is currently being implemented, is appropriate; and (d) that the School Board should consider revising the parents' letter as to using the term "current" in that current could be interpreted to mean the present time. Also, included in the findings by Dr. Quintana were: the principal's direction to the teachers, as to the deadline for sending PMPs home by the first quarter report card, was equivalent to the School Board's deadline for sending PMPs home; (b) teacher signatures were not required on PMPs; (c) the principal has discretion as to whether to authorize the sending home of additional PMPs and, with the principal's consent, PMPs can be modified and sent home at any time throughout the school year; and (d) Ms. Maynard completed all of her students' PMPs. Ms. Maynard's concerns regarding ELLS were that Ms. Portman was denying ELLs equal access and had inappropriately adjusted Individual Reading Inventories (IRI) scores of ELLs. Ms. Hughes found that Ms. Maynard only had allegations or claims, but no documentation to substantiate the allegations or claims. As a result, Ms. Hughes concluded that Ms. Portman had committed no violations. As a result of the investigation by Dr. Quintana and Ms. Hughes, Dr. Harrison determined and advised Ms. Maynard, among other things, that no violations had been found in the areas of PMP process, management or implementation and students' equal access rights and that the investigation was officially closed and concluded. Further, Dr. Harrison advised Ms. Maynard that, should additional concerns arise, Ms. Portman, as Principal, was the first line of communication and that, if concerns or issues were not being resolved at the school level, the School Board had a process in place that was accessible. Ms. Maynard admits that she was not satisfied with the determination by Dr. Harrison. Ms. Maynard does not dispute that the deleting of the PMPs were directives from Ms. Portman and that Ms. Portman had the authority to give directives. Ms. Maynard disputes whether the directives were lawful directives and claims that to change the PMPs as directed would be falsifying the reading materials used by her students and, therefore, falsifying PMPs. A finding of fact is made that the directives were reasonable and lawful. Interaction with Students and Parents Ms. Maynard's class consisted of third graders. In addition to reading deficiencies indicated previously, some of her students also had behavioral issues. Ms. Maynard was heard by staff and teachers yelling at her students. For instance, the Media Specialist, Yvonne "Bonnie" Goldstein, heard Ms. Maynard yelling at her (Ms. Maynard's) students. The Media Center was across the hall from Ms. Maynard's classroom and had no doors. On one occasion, Ms. Goldstein was so concerned with the loudness of the yelling, she went to Ms. Maynard's room to determine whether something was wrong; Ms. Maynard assured her that nothing was wrong. Paraprofessionals working in the cafeteria have observed Ms. Maynard yelling at her students. Some teachers reported the yelling to Ms. Portman in writing. The Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Specialist and Administrative Designee, Marjorie DiVeronica, complained to Ms. Portman in writing regarding Ms. Maynard yelling at her students. A Haitian student was in Ms. Maynard's class for approximately two weeks during the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year. The student was not performing well in school. The student's father discussed the student's performance with Ms. Maynard. She indicated to the father that Ms. Portman's directives to teachers, regarding reading services, i.e., PMPs, had negatively impacted his son's performance. Ms. Maynard assisted the father in preparing a complaint with DOE, dated October 12, 2006, against Ms. Portman. Among other things, the complaint contained allegations against Ms. Portman regarding a denial of equal access to trained teachers and the reading curriculum in violation of Florida's Meta Consent Agreement and the Equal Education Opportunity Act. Ms. Portman was not aware that the parent had filed a complaint against her with DOE. Additionally, on October 16, 2006, Ms. Portman held a conference with the Haitian parent. Among other things, Ms. Portman discussed the reading services provided to the parent's child by Cypress Elementary. Ms. Portman provided a summary of the conference to Ms. Maynard. Ms. Maynard responded to Ms. Portman's summary on that same day. In Ms. Maynard's response, she indicated, among other things, that Ms. Portman did not give the Haitian parent accurate information regarding the child. Interaction with Staff (Non-Teachers) A system of awarding points to classes was established for the cafeteria at Cypress Elementary. A five-point system was established in which classes were given a maximum of five points daily. Classes entered in silence and departed in silence. Points were deducted if a class did not act appropriately. An inference is drawn and a finding of fact is made that the five-point system encouraged appropriate conduct by students while they were in the cafeteria. The cafeteria was overseen by Leonor Williamson, who was an ESOL paraprofessional, due to her seniority. The paraprofessionals were responsible for the safety of the students while the students were in the cafeteria. The paraprofessionals implemented the five-point system and came to Ms. Williamson with any problems that they had involving the cafeteria. On or about December 11, 2006, Ms. Maynard's students entered the cafeteria and were unruly. Ms. Williamson instructed the paraprofessional in charge of the section where the students were located to deduct a point from Ms. Maynard's class. Ms. Maynard was upset at Ms. Williamson's action and loudly expressed her displeasure to Ms. Williamson, demanding to know the basis for Ms. Williamson's action. Ms. Maynard would not cease complaining, so Ms. Williamson eventually walked away from Ms. Maynard. Ms. Williamson was required to oversee the safety of the students in the cafeteria and, in order to comply with this responsibility, she had to remove herself from the presence of Ms. Maynard. Ms. Maynard also complained to another teacher, who was attempting to leave the cafeteria with her own students. Additionally, the lunch period for each teacher's class is 30 minutes. On that same day, Ms. Maynard took her class from one section to another section in the cafeteria to serve ice cream to the students. As a result, Ms. Maynard surpassed her lunch period by approximately ten minutes and, at the same time, occupied another class' section. Ms. Williamson viewed Ms. Maynard's conduct as unprofessional during the incident and as abusing the scheduled time for lunch. On or about December 12, 2006, Ms. Williamson notified Ms. Portman about the incidents and requested Ms. Portman to remind Ms. Maynard of the cafeteria workers' responsibility to the students and the lunch period set-aside for each class. The incident on or about December 11, 2006, was not the first time that Ms. Williamson had instructed paraprofessionals to deduct points from Ms. Maynard's class. Each time points were deducted, Ms. Maynard became upset and loudly expressed her displeasure to Ms. Williamson. Ms. Williamson felt intimidated by Ms. Maynard. Also, paraprofessionals had deducted points from Ms. Maynard's class on their own accord without being directed to do so by Ms. Williamson. Whenever the deductions occurred, Ms. Maynard expressed her displeasure with the paraprofessionals' actions and often yelled at them in the presence of students and teachers. Another cafeteria situation occurred in December 2006. A paraprofessional, who was in charge of the section where Ms. Maynard's students ate lunch, observed some of the students not conducting themselves appropriately. The paraprofessional decided to deduct one point from Ms. Maynard's class and to indicate to Ms. Maynard why the point was deducted. Furthermore, the paraprofessional decided that the conduct did not warrant a disciplinary referral. Upon becoming aware of the incident, Ms. Maynard, who did not witness the conduct, wrote disciplinary referrals on the students involved and submitted them to Ms. Castiglione. The policy was that a referral could be written only by the staff person who observed the incident. Ms. Castiglione discussed the incident with the paraprofessional who indicated to Ms. Castiglione that the conduct did not warrant a disciplinary referral. As a result, Ms. Castiglione advised Ms. Maynard that, based upon the paraprofessional's decision and since Ms. Maynard did not witness the incident, Ms. Maynard's referrals would not be accepted and the matter was closed. Ms. Maynard did not agree with the paraprofessional's decision. Ms. Maynard approached the paraprofessional with disciplinary referrals on the students and presented the referrals and strongly encouraged the paraprofessional to sign the referrals. The paraprofessional refused to sign the referrals. Interaction with Staff (Teachers and Administrators) Safety procedures for the Media Center were established by the Media Specialist, Yvonne "Bonnie" Goldstein. At one point in time, Ms. Maynard wanted to bring all of her students to Distance Learning. Because of safety concerns, Ms. Goldstein advised Ms. Maynard that all of her students could not attend at the same time. However, Ms. Maynard brought all of her students anyway. Ms. Goldstein had no choice but to preclude Ms. Maynard from entering the Media Center. Additionally, at another point in time, Ms. Maynard requested, by email, that Ms. Goldstein provide all of her (Ms. Maynard's) students with New Testament Bibles. That same day, Ms. Goldstein advised Ms. Maynard that only two Bibles were in the Media Center and, therefore, the request could not be complied with. Disregarding Ms. Goldstein's reply, Ms. Maynard sent her students to the Media Center that same day in twos and threes, requesting the New Testament Bibles. When the two Bibles on-hand were checked-out, Ms. Goldstein had no choice but to offer the students alternative religious material. During 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, Terri Vaughn was the Team Leader of the third grade class. As Team Leader, Ms. Vaughn's responsibilities included being a liaison between team members and the administration at Cypress Elementary. Ms. Vaughn's personality is to avoid confrontation. Ms. Vaughn had an agenda for each team meeting. During team meetings, Ms. Maynard would deviate from the agenda and discuss matters of her own personal interest, resulting in the agenda not being completed. Also, Ms. Maynard would occasionally monopolize team meetings. Additionally, in team meetings, Ms. Maynard would indicate that she would discuss a problem student with parents who were not the student's parents. As time progressed, during team meetings, Ms. Maynard would engage in outbursts. She would become emotional on matters and raise her voice to the point of yelling. Also, it was not uncommon for Ms. Maynard to point her finger when she became emotional. At times, Ms. Maynard would have to leave the meetings and return because she had begun to cry. Additionally, at times after an outburst, Ms. Maynard would appear as if nothing had happened. Further, during team meetings, Ms. Maynard would excessively raise the subject of PMPs and accuse Ms. Portman of directing her to falsify PMPs or Title I documents. Ms. Vaughn did not report Ms. Maynard's conduct at team meetings to Ms. Portman. However, a written request by a majority of the team members, who believed that the team meetings had become stressful, made a request to the administration of Cypress Elementary for a member of the administration to attend team meetings; their hope was that an administrator's presence would cause Ms. Maynard to become calmer during the team meetings. An administrator began to attend team meetings. Marjorie DiVeronica, an Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Specialist, was an administrative designee, and Ms. Portman designated Ms. DiVeronica to attend the team meetings. Ms. DiVeronica would take notes, try to keep meetings moving, and report to Ms. Portman what was observed. Discussions were stopped by Ms. DiVeronica, and she would redirect the meetings to return to the agenda. Even with Ms. DiVeronica's presence, Ms. Maynard would raise her voice. At one team meeting attended by Ms. Portman, Ms. Maynard would not stop talking and the agenda could not move. Ms. Portman requested Ms. Maynard to stop talking, but Ms. Maynard would not stop. Ms. Portman placed herself in close proximity to Ms. Maynard in order to defuse the situation and raised her voice in order to get Ms. Maynard's attention. Ms. Portman dismissed the meeting. Additionally, at a team meeting, Ms. Maynard had become emotional. Ms. Castiglione was in attendance at that meeting. Ms. Maynard raised her voice and was shouting and yelling and pointing her finger at Ms. Castiglione. Ms. Maynard continued her conduct at the team meetings no matter whether Ms. Portman, Ms. Castiglione, or Ms. DiVeronica attended the meetings. Outside of team meetings, Ms. Vaughn reached the point that she avoided contact with Ms. Maynard due to Ms. Maynard's constantly complaining of matters that were of her (Ms. Maynard's) own personal interest, which resulted in long conversations. Ms. Vaughn's classroom was next to Ms. Maynard's classroom. A closet, with a desk in it, was in Ms. Vaughn's room. At least two or three times, in order to complete some work, Ms. Vaughn went into the closet and closed the door. Another team member, Elizabeth Kane, also made attempts to avoid Ms. Maynard. Ms. Kane viewed Ms. Maynard as making the team meetings stressful. Also, Ms. Kane was uncomfortable around Ms. Maynard due to Ms. Maynard's agitation and, furthermore, felt threatened by Ms. Maynard when Ms. Maynard became agitated. Additionally, Ms. Kane made a concerted effort to avoid Ms. Maynard outside of team meetings. Ms. Kane would "duck" into another teacher's classroom or into a stall in the bathroom to avoid Ms. Maynard. Barbara Young, a team member, tried to be someone to whom Ms. Maynard could come to talk. Ms. Young was never afraid of or felt threatened by Ms. Maynard. Further, regarding the cafeteria incident in December 2006, which Ms. Maynard did not witness, Ms. Maynard did not allow the incident to end with Ms. Castiglione's determination to agree with the paraprofessional's decision to not issue disciplinary referrals. Ms. Maynard, firmly believing that Ms. Castiglione's action was unfair, openly disagreed with the decision in the presence her (Ms. Maynard's) students and strongly encouraged some of the students to go to Ms. Castiglione and protest Ms. Castiglione's determination. Some of the students went to Ms. Castiglione regarding her disciplinary determination. Ms. Castiglione explained her determination to the students, including the process and the reasoning why she did what she did. The students were satisfied with the determination after hearing Ms. Castiglione's explanation. Further, the students indicated to Ms. Castiglione that they had no desire to go to her, but Ms. Maynard wanted them to do it. Ms. Maynard's action had undermined Ms. Castiglione's authority with the students. LaShawn Smith-Settles, Cypress Elementary's Guidance Counselor, never felt threatened by Ms. Maynard or viewed Ms. Maynard as being hostile towards her. However, Ms. Maynard did make her feel uncomfortable. A second grade teacher, Paja Rafferty, never felt threatened by Ms. Maynard. Excessive Emails Communication thru emails is the standard operating procedure at Cypress Elementary. However, Ms. Maynard engaged in excessive emails. Ms. Maynard's emails were on relevant areas. However, she would not only send the email to the staff member, whether teacher or administrator, who could directly respond to her, but would copy every teacher and administrator. This process and procedure used by Ms. Maynard resulted in massive emails being sent to staff who might or might not have an interest in the subject matter. One such staff person, who took action to stop receiving the emails, was Ms. Kane. Ms. Kane was inundated with Ms. Maynard's emails regarding matters on which Ms. Kane had no interest or concern. To stop receiving the emails, Ms. Kane sent Ms. Maynard an email, twice, requesting that Ms. Maynard remove her (Ms. Kane) from the copy list. However, Ms. Maynard did not do so. Due to the massive number of emails sent to Ms. Portman by Ms. Maynard, a significant portion of Ms. Portman's time was devoted to responding to the emails. Ms. Portman had less and less time to devote to her responsibilities as principal of Cypress Elementary. Eventually, Ms. Portman was forced to curtail Ms. Maynard's emails. None of Ms. Maynard's emails threatened teachers, staff, or students. Additional Directives During the time period regarding the PMPs, Ms. Portman became concerned that the parents of Ms. Maynard's students were being misinformed by Ms. Maynard as to the students' performance and as to Cypress Elementary and Ms. Portman addressing the students' performance. On November 3, 2006, Ms. Portman held a meeting with Ms. Maynard. Also, in attendance were Ms. Castiglione and Patricia Costigan, Broward Teachers Union (BTU) Steward. During the meeting, among other things, Ms. Portman directed Ms. Maynard not to have conferences with a parent unless an administrator was present, either Ms. Portman or Ms. Castiglione, in order to assure that parents were not misinformed. A summary of the meeting was prepared on November 6, 2006. A copy of the summary was provided to Ms. Maynard and Ms. Costigan. Subsequently, Ms. Portman received a letter from a parent dated December 20, 2006. The parent stated, among other things, that the parent had approximately a two-hour telephone conversation, during the evening of December 19, 2006, with Ms. Maynard about the parent's child, who was a student in Ms. Maynard's class. Further, the parent stated that her son was referred to by Ms. Maynard as a "fly on manure." Even though Ms. Maynard denies some of the statements attributed to her by the parent and the time span of the telephone conversation, she does not deny that she had the telephone conversation with the parent. On December 20, 2006, Ms. Portman and Ms. Castiglione went to Ms. Maynard's classroom to remind Ms. Maynard of the directive. Ms Maynard was not in her classroom but was in another teacher's room, Barbara Young, with another teacher. Ms. Portman requested Ms. Maynard to come into Ms. Maynard's classroom so that she and Ms. Castiglione could talk with Ms. Maynard out of the presence of the other teachers. Ms. Maynard refused to leave Ms. Young's classroom indicating that whatever had to be said could be said in front of everyone, in front of witnesses. Ms. Portman, complying with Ms. Maynard's request, proceeded to remind Ms. Maynard of the directive to not conference with parents unless an administrator was present. Ms. Maynard became very agitated and yelled at them, indicating that she (Ms. Maynard) wanted what was said in writing and that she (Ms. Maynard) was not going to comply with the directive. Shortly before Winter break, on or about December 21, 2006, in the morning, Ms. Portman noticed Ms. Maynard by letter that a pre-disciplinary meeting would be held on January 10, 2006, regarding insubordination by Ms. Maynard. Among other things, the notice directed Ms. Maynard to "cease and desist all contact with parents" until the meeting was held. Later in the afternoon, after the administrative office was closed, Ms. Maynard returned to Ms. Portman's office. Ms. Maynard confronted Ms. Portman and Ms. Castiglione about the notice, wanting to know what it was all about. Ms. Maynard was very agitated and emotional, raising her voice and pointing her finger. Ms. Portman indicated to Ms. Maynard that the requirement was only to provide the notice, with the meeting to be held later. Ms. Portman asked Ms. Maynard several times to leave because the office was closed; Ms. Maynard finally left. After Ms. Maynard left Ms. Portman's office, Ms. Portman could hear Ms. Maynard talking to other staff. Ms. Portman was very concerned due to Ms. Maynard's agitation and conduct. Ms. Portman contacted the School Board's Professional Standards as to what to do and was told to request all employees, except day care, to leave. Ms. Portman did as she was instructed by Professional Standards, getting on the intercom system and requesting all employees, except for day care, to leave, not giving the employees the actual reason why they were required to leave. Unbeknownst to Ms. Portman, Ms. Maynard had departed Cypress Elementary before she (Ms. Portman) instructed the employees to leave. Regarding the afternoon incident, Ms. Maynard felt "helpless" at that point. She had been informed by Professional Standards to go to administration at Cypress Elementary with her concerns, who was Ms. Portman. Ms. Maynard viewed Ms. Portman as the offender, and, therefore, she was being told to go to offender to have her concerns addressed. On January 9, 2007, a Child Study Team (CST) meeting was convened to address the academic performance of a few of Ms. Maynard's students. Ms. Maynard had referred the students to the CST. The CST's purpose was to provide support for the student and the teacher by problem-solving, using empirical data to assist with and improve a child's academic performance and behavior, and making recommendations. No individual member can override a team's recommendation, only a principal could do that. On January 9, 2007, the CST members included, among others, Ms. DiVeronica, who was the CST's leader; Miriam Kassof, School Board Psychologist; and LaShawn Smith-Settles, Cypress Elementary's Guidance Counselor. Also, in attendance were Ms. Maynard and Ms. Castiglione, who, at that time, was an Intern Principal. During the course of the meeting, Ms. Maynard diverted the discussion from the purpose of the meeting to her wanting two of the students removed from her class. She began discussing the safety of the other students in the class, which was viewed, at first, as being well-meaning, however, when she insisted on the removal of the two students, she became highly emotional, stood-up, and was yelling. Members of the CST team attempted to de-escalate the situation, but Ms. Maynard was not willing to engage in problem solving and her actions were counterproductive. Due to Ms. Maynard's constant insistence on discussing the removal of the students from her class, the CST was not able to meet its purpose within the time period set- aside for the meeting. However, before the CST meeting ended, one of the recommendations made was for Ms. Maynard to collect daily anecdotal behavioral notes regarding one of the students and for the behavioral notes to be sent home to the student's parent. Ms. Castiglione gave Ms. Maynard a directive that, before the behavioral notes were sent home to the parent, the behavioral notes were to be forwarded to Ms. Castiglione for review and approval. Ms. Maynard resisted preparing behavioral notes, expressing that that plan of action would not help the situation. The CST members viewed Ms. Maynard's conduct as being unproductive, inappropriate, and unprofessional. On January 10, 2007, a pre-disciplinary meeting was held regarding Ms. Portman considering disciplinary action against Ms. Maynard for insubordination. Attendees at the meeting included Ms. Portman; Ms. Castiglione (at that time Intern Principal); Ms. Maynard; Jacquelyn Haywood, Area Director; Cathy Kirk, Human Resources; and Andrew David, Attorney for Ms. Maynard. The basis for the insubordination was Ms. Maynard's refusal to comply with Ms. Portman's directive for Ms. Maynard not to conference with parents unless an administrator was present. Ms. Portman pointed out that Ms. Maynard had a telephone conversation with a parent, regarding the parent's child, on December 19, 2006, without an administrator being present and showed Ms. Maynard the letter written by the parent to Ms. Portman, dated December 20, 2006. Ms. Maynard admitted only that she had the telephone conversation. Ms. Portman asked Ms. Maynard to provide a compelling reason as to why the disciplinary action should not be taken; Ms. Maynard did not respond. Ms. Portman reiterated the directive and advised Ms. Maynard that a letter of reprimand would be issued. A summary of the pre-disciplinary meeting was prepared. Ms. Maynard was provided a copy of the summary. On January 17, 2007, a written reprimand was issued by Ms. Portman against Ms. Maynard for failure to adhere to the administrative directive of not having a parent conference unless an administrator was present. The written reprimand stated, among other things, that Ms. Maynard had a parent's conference on the telephone with a student's parent without an administrator being present and that Ms. Maynard failed to present a compelling reason as to why no disciplinary action should be taken. Furthermore, the written reprimand advised Ms. Maynard that any further failure to perform consistent with the standards established for the effective and productive performance of her job duties, as a third grade teacher, would result in further disciplinary action up to and including a recommendation for termination of employment. Ms. Maynard received a copy of the written reprimand. After the Written Reprimand of January 17, 2007 Also, on January 17, 2007, Ms. Portman held a meeting with Ms. Maynard which was not a disciplinary meeting, but was a meeting for Ms. Portman to discuss her concerns and job expectations with Ms. Maynard. In addition to Ms. Portman and Ms. Maynard, attendees at the meeting included Ms. Castiglione; Jacqueline Haywood, Area Director; Cathy Kirk, Human Resources; and Mary Rutland, BTU Steward. Ms. Portman discussed five concerns and issued five directives. The first concern of Ms. Portman was Ms. Maynard's unprofessional behavior. The examples provided by Ms. Portman were Ms. Maynard's (a) yelling at paraprofessional staff in the cafeteria; (b) yelling at administrators, referencing the incident on December 20, 2006; and (c) continuing to publicly accuse Cypress Elementary's administrators of falsifying documents after an investigation had determined the accusation to be unfounded. Further, the directive that Ms. Portman issued to Ms. Maynard was to cease and desist all unprofessional and inappropriate behavior. Ms. Portman's second concern was unprofessional and inappropriate comments. The examples provided by Ms. Portman were Ms. Maynard's (a) indicating on December 20, 2006, while she was in Ms. Young's room, that she would not comply with the directives of which she was reminded by Ms. Portman; (b) speaking to a parent and referring to the parent's child as a "fly on manure"; and (c) telling parents, during conferences, that there was a problem at Cypress Elementary. Further, the directive that Ms. Portman issued to Ms. Maynard was to cease and desist all unprofessional and inappropriate comments. Additionally, Ms. Portman reminded Ms. Maynard that all notes were required to be submitted to administration for review no later than 1:00 p.m., except for student daily behavioral notes, which were to be submitted at 1:30 p.m. The third concern of Ms. Portman was continued dialogue of PMPs and ESOL issues. Ms. Portman indicated that the district had reviewed Ms. Maynard's issues and concerns and had responded to them. Further, the directive that Ms. Portman issued to Ms. Maynard was that the said issues were considered closed and that, if Ms. Maynard wished to pursue the said issues, she should contact her attorney. Ms. Portman's fourth concern was unmanageable emails sent by Ms. Maynard. The example provided by Ms. Portman was that she had received over 200 emails from Ms. Maynard. Ms. Portman indicated that the procedure that Ms. Maynard was required to follow when she (Ms. Maynard) had issues or concerns that needed to be addressed was (a) make an appointment with the administrator through the confidential secretary, identifying that person; and (b) provide the confidential secretary with the issue in writing. Only when (a) and (b) were complied with, would either Ms. Portman or Ms. Castiglione meet with Ms. Maynard, during Ms. Maynard's planning time, on the issue at the appointment time. Further, the directive that Ms. Portman issued to Ms. Maynard was that Ms. Maynard would cease and desist sending issues via emails and that conferences would be scheduled per the procedure outlined. The fifth concern of Ms. Portman's was protocol compliance. Ms. Portman indicated that the proper procedure for Ms. Maynard to adhere to when Ms. Maynard had a complaint or concern was to first, contact her (Ms. Maynard's) supervisor, not the area office, wherein Ms. Maynard would be provided with an opportunity to meet with an administrator. Additionally, as to meeting with an administrator, (a) Ms. Maynard would meet with either Ms. Portman or Ms. Castiglione; (b) an appointment with the administrator would be made through the confidential secretary, identifying that person; (c) Ms. Maynard would provide the confidential secretary with the issue or concern in writing; (d) only when (b) and (c) were complied with, would either Ms. Portman or Ms. Castiglione meet with Ms. Maynard, during Ms. Maynard's planning time, on the issue or concern at the appointment time; (e) administration would address the issue or concern and after the issue or concern had been presented to administration, Ms. Maynard was to consider the issue or concern closed. Further, the directive that Ms. Portman gave to Ms. Maynard was that Ms. Maynard was to comply with the protocol outlined for all of her concerns. Moreover, Ms. Portman indicated that a failure by Ms. Portman to follow all of the directives would result in disciplinary action up to and including termination from employment. A summary of the meeting of concerns and job expectations was prepared. On January 18, 2007, Ms. Portman noticed Ms. Maynard by letter that a pre-disciplinary meeting would be held on January 29, 2007, regarding gross insubordination by Ms. Maynard. Among other things, the notice directed Ms. Maynard to "cease and desist all communication with parents both written and oral" until the meeting was held. The notice was hand-delivered to Ms. Maynard at Cypress Elementary. On or about January 22, 2007, Ms. Portman held a meeting to develop a strategic plan to help motivate one of Ms. Maynard's students, who was in foster care, in the areas of academics and behavior. In addition to Ms. Portman, attendees at the meeting included, among others, Ms. Castiglione; Ms. Smith-Settles; and the student's Guardian Ad-Litem. During the meeting, the Guardian Ad-Litem indicated that Ms. Maynard had telephoned the student's foster parent, engaged in more than a 45-minute conversation, and, during the telephone conversation, made negative comments about Cypress Elementary. On January 23, 2007, Ms. Portman provided Ms. Maynard with a Notice of Special Investigative/Personnel Investigation (Notice) by hand-delivery. The Notice stated, among other things, that the investigation regarded allegations that Ms. Maynard was creating a hostile environment. The Notice directed Ms. Maynard not to engage anyone, connected with the allegations, in conversation regarding the matter and advised that a violation of the directive could result in disciplinary action for insubordination. Further, the Notice advised Ms. Maynard that, if she had any question regarding the status of the investigation, she should contact Joe Melita, Executive Director of Professional Standards and Special Investigative Unit, providing his contact telephone number. The Notice was provided to Ms. Maynard as a result of Ms. Portman making a request for the investigation on January 17, 2007. The request indicated that the allegations were: (1) yelling at paraprofessional staff in the cafeteria; (2) yelling at both the principal and assistant principal on December 20, 2006; (3) accusing the principal of falsifying documents even after the school district investigation found the accusation unwarranted; (4) not complying with directives; and (5) accusing the principal of lying to a parent at a conference. The pre-disciplinary meeting noticed for January 29, 2007, was not held due to the placing of Ms. Maynard under investigation. On or about January 25, 2007, Ms. Maynard was temporarily reassigned to the School Board's Textbook Warehouse by Mr. Melita. Temporary reassignment is standard operating procedure during an investigation. Teachers are usually temporarily reassigned to the Textbook Warehouse. Because of the investigation, Ms. Maynard could not return to Cypress Elementary or contact anyone at Cypress Elementary without Mr. Melita's authorization. The SIU investigator assigned to the case was Frederick Davenport. On August 14, 2007, Investigator Davenport went to the Textbook Warehouse to serve a notice of reassignment on Ms. Maynard from Mr. Melita that her reassignment was changed immediately and that she was reassigned to Crystal Lake Community Middle School. The notice of reassignment required Ms. Maynard's signature. Investigator Davenport met with Ms. Maynard in private in the conference room and advised her of his purpose, which was not to perform any investigative duties but to serve the notice of reassignment and obtain her signature. Ms. Maynard refused to sign the notice of reassignment because it was not signed by Mr. Melita and left. Investigator Davenport contacted Professional Standards and requested the faxing of an executed notice of reassignment by Mr. Melita to the Textbook Warehouse. Professional Standards complied with the request. Investigator Davenport met again with Ms. Maynard in private in the conference room. Ms. Maynard refused to sign the executed notice of reassignment. She felt threatened by Investigator Davenport and ran from the room into the parking area behind the Textbook Warehouse at the loading dock. A finding of fact is made that Investigator Davenport did nothing that the undersigned considers threatening. Investigator Davenport did not immediately follow Ms. Maynard but eventually went to the steps next to the loading dock, however, he did not approach Ms. Maynard in the parking lot. Ms. Maynard refused to talk with Investigator Davenport, expressing her fear of him, and contacted the Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO). A BSO deputy came to the parking lot. After Ms. Maynard discussed the situation with the BSO deputy and a friend of Ms. Maynard's, who arrived at the scene, she signed the notice of reassignment. Investigator Davenport delivered the notice of reassignment to Professional Standards. Investigator Davenport completed his investigation and forwarded the complete investigative file and his report to his supervisor for approval. At that time, his involvement in the investigation ended. His supervisor presented the investigation to Professional Standards. On or about September 19, 2007, the Professional Standards Committee found probable cause that Ms. Maynard had created a hostile work environment and recommended termination of her employment. The Flyer On April 27, 2009, a town hall meeting was held by the School Board at the Pompano Beach High School's auditorium. That town hall meeting was one of several being held the same night by the School Board. The process and procedure for the town hall meeting included (a) all persons who wished to speak were required to sign-up to speak and (b), if they desired to distribute documents, prior to distribution, the documents were required to be submitted and receive prior approval. Security was at the auditorium, and Investigator Davenport was one of the security officers. During the town hall meeting, an unidentified man rose from his seat, began to talk out-of-turn and loud, was moving toward the front where School Board officials were located, and was distributing a flyer. The actions of the unidentified man got the attention of Investigator Davenport and caused concern about the safety of the School Board officials. Investigator Davenport and the other security officer approached the unidentified man, obtained the flyer, and escorted him out of the auditorium. Once outside, the unidentified man indicated, among other things, that he had not obtained prior approval to distribute the flyer. The unidentified man did not identify who gave him the flyer. Investigator Davenport observed that the flyer was placed on most of the vehicles in the auditorium's parking lot. Once Investigator Davenport and his fellow security officer were convinced that the unidentified man was not a threat to the School Board officials, they released the unidentified man who left the area. Neither Investigator Davenport nor his fellow security officer saw Ms. Maynard at the town hall meeting or had any indication that she had been there. Neither Investigator Davenport nor his fellow security officer had any indication that Ms. Maynard had requested the man to distribute the flyer. The flyer was signed by Ms. Maynard and dated April 27, 2009. The heading of the flyer contained the following: "PARENTS FOR FULL DISCLOSURE"; an email address; and "PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN." The content of the flyer included statements that Ms. Maynard was a teacher in 2006 at Cypress Elementary and was directed twice by her administrators in emails to falsify Title I documents; that she was directed to mislead parents about materials and services that the students were legally entitled to; that many of the students failed because they were denied the materials and services; that she refused to follow the directives and filed complaints with the proper authorities; that in 2008, Ms. Portman, who gave the directives to Ms. Maynard, was removed from Cypress Elementary, along with Ms. Murphins and Dr. Harrison--the flyer also indicated the new locations of the individuals; that persons, who were interested in learning how to prevent themselves from being misinformed and to protect their children from being denied the materials and services, should contact Ms. Maynard at the email address on the flyer; and that parents who gather together have more power than teachers to influence the school districts. Ms. Maynard had no determinations or proof to support any of the allegations in the flyer, only her belief. Recognizing that the flyer contained statements similar to the statements of his investigative report, Investigator Davenport forwarded the flyer to Mr. Melita. Ms. Maynard admits that she prepared the flyer and signed it. She indicates that an individual who claimed to be a member of the parent group, Parents For Full Disclosure, contacted and met with her. That individual, who also did not reveal her identity, requested Ms. Maynard to prepare the flyer and informed Ms. Maynard that the flyer would be distributed at the town hall meeting. Filing Various Complaints with Investigative Agencies Ms. Maynard filed various complaints with public investigative agencies regarding: harassment during the investigation; minority teachers being investigated, reassigned to the Textbook Warehouse, and not receiving annual evaluations; and the flyer. The public investigative agencies included the FBI, Broward County EEOC, federal EEOC, Florida Public Service Commission, and Florida Commission on Human Relations. No evidence was presented to show that Ms. Maynard was prohibited from filing the complaints. Contract Status At the time of the investigation of Ms. Maynard in January 2007 for creating a hostile work environment, she was under a continuing contract. Further, at the time that Professional Standards determined probable cause, on or about September 19, 2007, that Ms. Maynard had created a hostile work environment, she was under a continuing contract. Ms. Maynard testified that, on November 2, 2007, she received and signed a professional services contract, a fact which the School Board did not refute. A finding of fact is made that, on November 2, 2007, she received and signed a professional services contract. Employment Requiring a Teaching Certificate At the time of hearing, Ms. Maynard had not found employment requiring a teaching certificate since being suspended, without pay and benefits, by the School Board on or about March 18, 2008.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that the Commissioner of Education enter a final order: Finding that Doreen Maynard committed Counts 2 (only as to gross immorality), 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 12, 15, and 16; Dismissing Counts 1, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, and 17; and Suspending Doreen Maynard's educator's certificate for three years, with denial of an application for an educator's certificate for the three-year period, and, after completion of the suspension, placing her on probation for one year under terms and conditions deemed appropriate by the Commissioner of Education. DONE AND ENTERED this 21st day of July, 2011, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. S ERROL H. POWELL 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 21st day of July, 2011.
Findings Of Fact Based upon my observation of the witnesses and their demeanor while testifying, the documentary evidence received and the entire record complied herein, the following relevant facts are found. By letter dated October 1, 1980, Respondent, David K. Witherspoon, and his parents were advised by the Pinellas County Superintendent of Schools, Gus Sakkis, that he was being suspended from the public schools of Pinellas County for the remainder of the 1980/81 and 1981/82 school years based on an allegation that Respondent committed a battery while on school grounds on September 19, 1980, following a high school football game. (Joint Exhibit 1) Respondent is scheduled to graduate from high school at the end of the 1981/82 school year. Following the expulsion, Respondent has been assigned and is attending an evening alternative education school program sponsored by the Pinellas County School System. According to testimony, that a system provides two hours of instruction each week day evening. Respondent appealed the Superintendent's expulsion and the parties stipulated that the Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction to resolve this controversy. According to the Code of Student Conduct, students are expected to conduct themselves at all times in a manner that "shall [not] infringe on the rights of others. A battery, according to the Code of Student Conduct, is the unlawful, intentional touching . . . or force to another person, done in a rude, insolent and angry manner shall subject a student to disciplinary action which may include suspension or expulsion from school." Paragraph 3(a)2, Code of Student Conduct. The material allegations of this controversy are that following the football game at Gibbs Senior High School (Gibbs) on September 19, 1980, Respondent while in the company of four other black males struck Anthony Scott Taylor, a seventeen year old senior at Gibbs, his mother and his fiancee in the school's parking lot. Anthony Taylor charged that Respondent kicked him across his eye; struck him with his fist, bruising his nose and caused his eye to bleed. Taylor has know Respondent for more than two years and has had no prior run-ins or altercations with Respondent. Taylor alleges that approximately 20 or more black students encircled him during the altercation with Respondent. Taylor, while on his knees in a slouched position when he was allegedly hit an kicked by Respondent, glanced up to identify Respondent. Taylor admitted that he was preoccupied with ensuring that his fiancee and mother could leave the parking area without difficulty. He also commented that blood was streaming from his right eye from the blow he received. Ann Taylor, Anthony Taylor's mother, was also struck by a black male as she was leaving the September 19, 1980, football game at Gibbs. Mrs. Taylor testified that her son was knocked down he (Anthony) told one of the black males "that's my mother you knocked down." Mrs. Taylor testified that she was unable to identify any of the students involved in the altercation and noted that her son was dazed when he left the area where the fight occurred. Lori Bush, Respondent's fiancee, also accompanied the Taylors following the football game. Ms. Bush also could not identify any of the students involved in the altercation with them. Ms. Bush and Anthony Taylor's mother picked him up and carried him to their car. Ms. Bush did not recall having seen Respondent prior to the hearing in this cause. Paula Sitzelberger, a detective with the St. Petersburg Police Department investigated the subject incident which occurred at Gibbs on September 19, 1980. Detective Sitzelberger spoke to Respondent at school on September 23, 1980, and after questioning him, reported that Respondent denied striking Anthony Taylor following the game. Detective Sitzelberger noted that Respondent admitted to having shoved another white male whose identity is unknown in another area of the parking lot after the white male allegedly pulled or struck Respondent. Detective Sitzelberger was unable to locate any independent witnesses to the subject incident. Jerry Young, a witness called on behalf of Respondent, recalled the numerous fights which occurred following the September 19, 1980, football game at Gibbs. Young followed Respondent throughout the school ground area and denied that Respondent had any involvement in the subject incident. He corroborated Respondent's testimony to the effect that Respondent's hand was injured in another incident in another area of the school's parking area after Respondent was first enmeshed in an altercation with another white male. Respondent related the incident following the September 19, 1980, football game at Gibbs. Respondent has been attending evening sessions at Mirror Lake Adult High School since his expulsion from the regular public schools of Pinellas County. According to Respondent, Tony Taylor was struck by a group of other blacks and Respondent denied any involvement on his part in that incident. Respondent surmised that Tony Taylor shouted that he recognized him while he was being struck in an effort to gain some sympathy from the group that was striking him. Respondent, after hearing Tony Taylor shouted that he recognized him while he was being struck in an effort to gain some sympathy from the group that was striking him. Respondent, after hearing Tony Taylor repeatedly shout that he knew him, left the area with companion Young although he got involved in another altercation with another white male which resulted in an injury to his hand. Respondent first became aware of his alleged involvement in the Anthony Taylor incident the following Monday when he was questioned by Dean Jones and Detective Sitzelberger. 2/
Recommendation Based upon the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is hereby RECOMMENDED: That the Respondent be reinstated in the Pinellas County School System; that the suspension be revoked and that the student be permitted to make up the school work missed as provided in Chapter 4(b)1(h) of the Code of Student Conduct adopted by the Pinellas County School System. RECOMMENDED this 14th day of January, 1981, in Tallahassee, Florida. JAMES E. BRADWELL, 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 14th day of January, 1981.
The Issue At issue herein is whether or not the Respondent's teaching certificate should be revoked for conduct which will be set forth hereinafter in detail which is allegedly violative of Sections 231.09 and 231.28, Florida Statutes, and Rules 6A-4.37 and 6B-1, Florida Administrative Code.
Findings Of Fact Based upon my observation of the witnesses and their demeanor while testifying, the argeements of counsel, the stipulation of the parties entered on June 7, 1979, and the entire record compiled herein, the following facts are found. The Florida Professional Practices Council (sometimes referred to as "Petitioner") received a report from the Superintendent of Pinellas County Schools on October 24, 1977, indicating that the district had reason to believe that there might be probable cause for revocation of the teaching certificate of John A. Lettelleir, Respondent. Pursuant to this report, and under the authority contained in Section 231.28, Florida Statutes, Petitioner's staff conducted a professional inquiry into the matter and on January 9, 1978, made its report to the Executive Committee of the Professional Practices Council. The Executive Committee recommended that the Commissioner of Education find that probable cause exists to believe that Respondent is guilty of acts which provide grounds for the revocation of his Florida teacher's certificate. The Commissioner of Education found probable cause and directed the filing of a Petition on January 9, 1978, pursuant to the authority vested under Section 6A-4.37, Rules of the State Board of Education, and Section 231.28, Florida Statutes. In conclusionary allegations, the Petition cites that the Respondent engaged in acts which are "immoral, seriously reduced his effectiveness as a School Board employee and was not a proper example or model for students and not in the best interests of the health and safety of students" contra to Section 231.09; 231.28, Florida Statutes, and Rule 6A-4.37 and 6B-1, Rules of the State Board of Education. Respondent currently holds a Post-graduate, Rank II, Florida Teacher's Certificate No. 347804, covering elementary education, early childhood and junior college, which is valid through June 30, 1985. Respondent was employed in the Public Schools of Pinellas County as a teacher at Maximo Elementary School during the 1976-77 school year. Respondent resigned from his teaching position in the Pinellas County School System in October, 1977. Respondent chaperoned a three day Easter trip for male and female school children from Maximo Elementary School in April of 1976. The trip required three nights away from home for these children. On two of these nights, Respondent shared a sleeping bag with one of his male students. On both nights, Respondent improperly touched the student. During the fall of 1976, three male school children from Maximo Elementary School spent the night at Respondent`s home. The boys slept in Respondent's bedroom. Respondent slept in a double bed with one of the three students and improperly touched the student. Sandra McMichael and Louanne Crawford, teachers in the Pinellas County School System, appeared and testified respecting their relationship with the Respondent. Ms. McMichael and Ms. Crawford both related their professional involvement with Respondent and it suffices to say, in summary fashion, that they considered the Respondent a person of unquestionable character. (TR 20-57 of Joint Exhibit 2.) During the hearing, Respondent testified respecting the agony which the subject incident has brought to his family. Among other things, he stated that he only stipulated to the facts contained in Joint Exhibit 1 based on counsel's advice and their considered joint opinion that without regard to the outcome of his proof or innocence by a contested hearing in this matter, that ultimately he would have gained nothing based on the wide publicity which attaches to such hearings involving public figures. Therefore, Respondent, while maintaining his innocence of the material accusations against him, reluctantly entered into the stipulation which admits improper touching of a male student, in order to satisfy the apparent interpretation of Rule 6A-4.37, Rules of the State Board of Education during a prior hearing in this matter on August 15, 1979. Such an interpretation requires an admission of wrongdoing as a predicate to surrender of a teacher's certificate for less than permanent revocation. Based on the foregoing and the parties' joint stipulation for less than permanent revocation, i.e., five years, the undersigned is of the considered opinion that sufficient basis exists to support a favorable recommendation to the Board of Education for a five (5) year revocation with the running of the revocation period commencing in October, 1977, the date of Respondent's resignation from the Pinellas County School System. I shall so recommend.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is hereby, RECOMMENDED: That the Respondent's teacher's certificate, No. 347804, be revoked for a period of five (5) years with entry of the revocation period commencing on October, 1977, the date of Respondent's resignation from the Pinellas County School System. ENTERED this 2nd day of November, 1979, in Tallahassee, Florida. JAMES E. BRADWELL, Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings Room 101, Collins Building Tallahassee, Florida 32301 (904) 488-9675
