Brighton, COLORADO

Another chapter in the sordid Brighton Charter High School saga. Sentenced again. It would be good to think that she won't be teaching again. But it's Colorado.
Pity me picture.

Nov 13, 2006 -
An arrest warrant was issued for Carrie McCandless, 29, a social studies teacher and cheerleading coach at Brighton Charter High School, on charges of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust. She also faces a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The charges stem from a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old male student.

Her contract was terminated last week. She is also the principal's wife. It gets worse.

This is the second time in less than a year an adult at Brighton Charter High has been investigated for having an inappropriate relationship with a student,

David Mundy, Jr., 31, who used to be a substitute teacher at the school, pleaded guilty earlier this year to sex assault on a child and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Mundy was a Brighton firefighter at the time of the incident. He resigned in October because of the case. Mundy also has ties to school management. He is the son of David Mundy, Sr., the chairman of the charter school board of directors.

Continued here for space considerations.

SENTENCED June 8 - Denver Post: McCandless was sentenced to 45 days on the misdemeanor charge. Compare the Denver Post with Rocky Mountain News:

Judge James Hiatt told the 30-year-old former Brighton Charter High School teacher that she was supposed to be the trusted adult who set the boundaries.

"All of this sounds like something a 16- or-17-year-old student would be doing and would have been expelled for," he said

The Rocky Mountain News also reports that she will serve five years of probation and be required to register as a sex offender. They also report that In court today that as McCandless was led away, she blew a kiss to her husband and friends, saying: "Goodbye, guys."

JAIL - NOT PRISON - TIME March 31, 2008 - McCandless turned herself in to serve 30 days in jail - not prison. She turned herself in Friday on charges related to contributing to the delinquency of a minor. From The Coloradan: It's unclear exactly what the charges are, and whether they are new ones or violations stemming from her original conviction last summer.

CHARGES - The sexual encounter was discovered on March 6 when a parole officer arrived at the apartment of another one of his parolees and he found McCandless in bed there. The sex was a violation of her probation terms because it was not reported to or approved by McCandless' treatment team.

Upon discovering her at the apartment, McCandless also did not originally disclose the offense to the parole officer. The encounter also resulted in her violation of the 8:30 p.m. curfew established as a term of her probation. The sexual encounter was discovered on March 6 when a parole officer arrived at the apartment of another one of his parolees and he found McCandless in bed there. The sex was a violation of her probation terms because it was not reported to or approved by McCandless' treatment team. It was not her husband or a juvenile.

McCandless also had another sexual encounter in December that was not approved or reported to the treatment team.

SEXUAL OFFENDER INTENSIVE SUPERVISION The five years of intensive supervision requires permission from parole officers before she can seek sexual contact with others.

McCandless remains married to the charter school's former principal. She, her husband and the school are being sued negligence stemming, in part, from her criminal case.

BRIGHTON SCHOOL - April 6 - The Denver Post looked at the history of the troubled school and the scandals. One new fact: Chris McCandless resigned as principal and runs a pet-sitting business.

Apache Junction, ARIZONA

FUGITIVE TEACHER CAPTURED after two years.

Sept 14, 2007 - A charter school principal still has her job despite pleading guilty last year to a reduced charge of failing to report neglect of a minor.

Carolyn Kennedy was sentenced to two years probation, a suspended 90-day jail sentence and a $2,500 fine following her plea deal.

Police say she knew that her son, former Morningstar teacher Bobby Kennedy, 28, was molesting a girl in his class in 2005 and did nothing to report it. They also say she wouldn't help them locate her son after he skipped bail.

He is still a fugitive.

Even worse: State officials charged with enforcement of charter schools can't say why Kennedy is still at the school or even if they have plans to investigate.

Morningstar owner C. Steven Cox, has been hit with a 112-count indictment for theft and misuse of charter school funds in California. His assets have been frozen as well.

Charter Disaster
No school oversight Connect the dots
Forbes: Charter School Network Founder Indicted
San Diego Union-Tribune: Founder of big California charter school network indicted

CAPTURED March 18, 2008 - Deputy U.S. Marshals in Oklahoma captured accused child molester Bobby Kennedy, 29, at a residence in Lawton, Oklahoma.

Deputy U.S. Marshals from Phoenix developed significant information that Kennedy was residing in Lawton, OK with his wife and small child. This information was relayed to Deputies in Oklahoma who immediately established surveillance on the residence and arrested Kennedy a short time later.
Source: Press release from the U.S. Marshals office.

Photo: U.S. Marshals Office

Ex-A.J. teacher wanted by police caught in Okla.
U.S. Marshals arrest fugitive Apache Junction teacher

Brighton, COLORADO

Jan 9, 2008 - Brighton Collegiate High School (formerly Brighton Charter School) has until Feb 8th to submit a corrective plan or face losing its charter.

A team of consultants hired by the school district determined that the charter school was in violation of their contract with the district.

In a blistering report presented to the district's board at a meeting Tuesday night at Northeast Elementary School, the consulting team found that the school, formerly known as Brighton Charter School, did not have proper procedures for screening applicants, which resulted in jeopardizing the safety and security of students, and that the school did not make timely notification to the district or to authorities when employee misconduct was discovered.

TT - We have often wondered what they smoke in Brighton because it's hard to think of any other school district that would accept a charter school with the abysmal record of Brighton Charter School.

Three teachers were arrested for having sexual contact with students. The board president of the school was also sentenced for failing to report abuse. RESULT: He got probation. One of the teachers (also sentenced ) was his son. RESULT: He got 90 days and 10 years' probation. The other teacher (also convicted) was the wife of the school principal. RESULT: She really got smacked with 45 days.

The latest arrest is the best yet. TT - Link and Link

Brighton, COLORADO

Sentenced (sorta) to probation for failure to report sexual abuse of a student. Witness tampering charge dropped.

Jan 21, 2007 - David Mundy Sr, 53, Brighton Charter School Board president, pleaded not guilty to charges of tampering with a witness and failure to report sexual abuse. [TT-Bolding ours.]

Mundy allegedly waited to report alleged sexual contact to authorities between former Brighton Charter teacher Carrie McCandless and a teenage student on a school hiking trip to Estes Park in October until several days after it happened. McCandless’ case is being handled in Larimer County.

Mundy stepped down from the charter school board in December amid growing pressure from both parents and fellow board members. Mundy’s son, David Mundy Jr., was sentenced earlier this year in a separate case where he pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault on a child and contributing to the delinquency of a minor for an incident involving three teenage girls including one Brighton Charter student. Mundy Jr. worked at the school as substitute teacher.

The trial is set for Jul 18.
TT entry for McCandless
TT entry for Mundy, Jr
McCandless' husband is principal of the school. He has not been involved in any of the improprieties.

June 15 - Mundy made a brief court appearance for hearings. Trial is scheduled for July 18.

GUILTY PLEA and SENTENCING : July 24 - Mundy pleaded guilty to a count of failure to report child abuse. District Court Judge Thomas Ensor "immediately sentenced Mundy, 53, to probation and a $500 fine." Charges dropped: tampering with three witnesses.

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ONLINE RESOURCE: Colorado teacher License Search LINK

Immokalee, FLORIDA

May 16, 2007 - The unnamed teacher at an Immokalee school was fired for getting drunk on a field trip to Washington, DC, with 41 fifth and sixth graders. He allegedly cursed at students, spanked them and flung one on a bed.

Five fifth-graders were in their room at the Embassy Suites when their teacher, the school’s soccer coach, told the group he was going downstairs and would return in 10 minutes. He returned an hour later. Drunk.

The school chaperones, which included seven teachers, four parents and one adult volunteer, learned something was wrong when the five fifth-graders did not show up for dinner.“The kids didn’t show any sign of physical harm, but they were upset,” Mainster said.

"School officials called the kid’s parents that night. They separated the teacher and put him in a separate hotel and paid for a separate flight, which he missed."

School officials said they didn’t notify authorities immediately because they didn’t want to traumatize the students by having them speak with police.
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School information. link

Parents at Redlands Christian Migrant Association are outraged that no charges were filed against the former soccer coach, whose name has not been released.

"RCMA provides quality child care and early education for children of migrant farm workers and rural, low-income families throughout Florida." Former migrant farm workers are among teachers and staff, according to their website.

La Mesa, CALIFORNIA

Sentenced to probation. Judge: "A serious error in judgement."

Dec 27, 2006 - Frank Palumbo, 27, assistant band director at Helix Charter High School, was arrested and charged with three counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and three counts of oral copulation with a minor.

The 17-year-old victim admitted to having a sexual relationship with Palumbo. Her father learned of it after confronting her and immediately contacted police.

Palumbo resigned Dec 15 to take a job in Sugarland, Texas, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. It was the same day the sexual relationship is alleged to have started.

UPDATE: Dec 28 Palumbo pleads not guilty. Readiness conference is set for Feb 22.

UPDATE: Feb 22, 2007 - Palumbo pleaded guilty to to two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. Deputy District Attorney Mark Skeels said in a interview that he made no deals on sentencing.
Sentencing is set for April 20.

UPDATE: Apr 20 - Palumbo was sentenced to to five years probation.

Paterson, NEW JERSEY

Feb 2, 2007 - An unnamed teacher was fired from the Paterson Charter School of Science and Technology for allegedly showing two students pornographic images from his cell phone. One of the student's mother is a board member. No charges have been filed. Police are investigating.

In late December, the school was placed on 90-day probation by the state Department of Education in part because of deficient hiring practices. The school is required to correct the problems before the DOE will renew its charter for a second term of five years.

According to school officials, four teachers were working without proper state teaching certifications and one teacher had given the school an invalid Social Security number. That teacher was fired immediately after an October site-visit by DOE officials revealed the discrepancy.

Greatschools.com rates Paterson Charter School of Science and Technology a 1 out of 10 for test scores.

Benton Harbor, MICHIGAN

Jan 17, 2007 - Thomas Golba, a former teacher at Benton Harbor's Countryside Charter High School, has been ordered to register as a sex offender, again.

After his 2005 conviction, he was ordered to register as a sex offender. The jury found him guilty of unauthorized use of a computer but deadlocked on the child sexually abusive material charge. Golba was sentenced to 3 1/2 years probation, 120 days in jail and was ordered to register as a sex offender. Golba appealed, arguing that because the jury did not convict him on child pornography, he should not have to register as a sex offender.

The Michigan Court of Appeals said the judge had the right to consider evidence from the trial at sentencing.

Lebanon, OREGON

Teacher's aide accused of trading a fifth of whiskey to a student in exchange for 10 Ritalin tablets.
Jan 11, 2007 - Teacher's aide Kelli Dixon, 36, has been indicted for possession of a controlled substance and furnishing alcohol to a minor.

The youth went home intoxicated and told his mother Dixon had given the alcohol to him. She notified school and they called police. The family has since removed the boy from Sand Ridge Charter School.

Dixon resigned Sept 15.

Brighton, COLORADO

Calling Brighton Charter High School "troubled" is a wild understatement. Sordid is more like it.

Jan 11, 2007 - David Mundy, a substitute teacher at Brighton Charter High School, was sentenced today to 90 days in jail and 10 years of probation for sexual contact with three girls. He will also be enrolled in the county’s sex offender intensive supervision program after serving his 90 days.

He is son of David Mundy Sr., the [then] board president of Brighton Charter High School, who is facing charges of his own — that he tampered with three witnesses and failed to report alleged child abuse -- in the case of Carrie McCandless (TT entry) wife of school principal.
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The Denver Post headlines the story: "Fondling teacher goes to jail" a frivolous headline considering Mundy must register as a sex offender and the judge said was compelled to hand down a jail sentence because Mundy had "groomed" the girls as their former teacher.

Mundy is the father of two children.

Columbus, OHIO

Trust Us With Your Children.

Jan 10, 2007 - The Columbus Public School Board voted unanimously to fire Mifflin High School Principal Regina Crenshaw for failing to report a sexual assault.

Crenshaw was principal at the school in March 2004 when two boys forced a girl, who was developmentally disabled, to perform oral sex in the school's auditorium.

When staff members told Crenshaw, she did not call police. When the father of the girl learned what happened, school officials discouraged him from calling the police. link [TT - none of these subsequent stories were in national headlines as the original story was.]

Crenshaw was subsequently tried on the failure and the jury found her not guilty. The school has been trying to fire her every since. A referee finally ruled that they could fire the principal "for what he called a "significant lapse in judgment" in responding to the sexual assault of a developmentally disabled girl. [Read the timeline at the right of the article.]

Call for Reform
The Columbus Board of Education President called on Ohio legislators yesterday to reform laws governing how school districts are able to fire teachers and principals after learning that his district has, so far, spent $37,672 in its bid to fire Crenshaw. Charter schools in Ohio are exempt from almost all sections of the code governing schools, including ones dealing with terminating employees.

Public school firings are more complicated.

"I believe that everybody deserves due process," said Rhonda Johnson, president of the Columbus Education Association, the teachers union.
An average case to fire an educator costs $50,000, Johnson estimates.

"That’s why in a lot of cases we’re able to get some things worked out so that we don’t have to go through a termination case, because it’s costly to the district," Johnson said.

TT: Another way unions have made reform in public schools nearly impossible.

Crenshaw's attorney: "I find it perplexing that the schools could terminate (Crenshaw) and not even discipline that math teacher who impregnated a 17-year-old student," Clark said yesterday. "He wasn’t fired from Columbus Public Schools. (Roger Lee McEldowney, who lost his teaching certificate last month.)

Dayton, OHIO

Jan 5, 2007 -
Steven Keller, 30, a teacher was arrested at Richard Allen Academy, and charged with gross sexual imposition against a child under 13. He is scheduled to appear in court on Jan 8.
UPDATE: The girl is reported to be 7-years-old.

Gross sexual imposition definition from USlegalforms.com

UPDATE: Jan 8 - Keller was arraigned and charged with gross sexual imposition on a 7-year-old girl. Police believe Keller was a kindergarten teacher at the time of his arrest. Police also believe Keller met the girl's family via his profession and was considered to be a friend of the girl's family. A preliminary is scheduled for Friday.

Jan 9: He taught taught kindergarten at the Edgemont campus from 2000 to 2005 before going to the Salem Avenue campus. The school sent a letter to parents saying they intended to cooperate. "The letter also states that "Mr. Keller received clearance from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation prior to being employed by Richard Allen."

The letter also notes that "this incident is the first of its kind in our school district, but it certainly shows that we are not immune to the challenge of everyday society."

CONVICTED - Found at the Ohio Educator Conduct search site that he was convicted of felony gross sexual imposition and his license was revoked Sept 2007.

Land-o-Lakes, FLORIDA

TT view:The teacher is unnamed because it's isn't a personal responsibility issue, but how unions are restricting the ability of schools to act decisively to maintain classroom safety or standards.

Dec 28, 2006 - A Florida teacher who attempted suicide at school in May because she said "she feared she might lose her job because she failed a Spanish exam that would have helped her become a "highly qualified" teacher, a requirement of the federal No Child Left Behind Act" -- has been cleared to return to work.

She taught foreign language. (But it doesn't say what language.) She was taking medications at the time. The Superintendent suggested firing her, a recommendation the board rejected. ("They said the district would send the wrong message to employees if they fired the teacher because of actions related to her mental illness.") At an employee appeal, "[Her] psychiatrist testified that if the uncertainty about her job was removed, and she properly takes her medication, he didn't think she would attempt suicide again."

TT view: It's a pretty big "if" when it involves a schoolroom setting, pressure, and minors. Blaming the "No Student Left Behind Act" for a suicide attempt sounds decidedly odd. Inviting someone "mentally ill" into the classroom doesn't sound like the best decision either.

The issue has been cast by Florida media/unions as "moral one"-- firing her because suicide is an "immoral act" -- even though the St. Petersburg Times editorialized that she shouldn't be in the classroom. (That is the only thing they wrote about it that makes some sense.)

[Superintendent] Fiorentino said the state Office of Professional Practices recommended that immorality and misconduct would be appropriate legal reasons for firing the teacher. (The Superintendent also pushed for a teacher dress code but the Board didn't agree either.)

Santa Ana, CALIFORNIA

Jan 6, 2006 - Sarah Bench-Salorio, 29, charter school English teacher and a substitute in Orange Co. Unified School District, was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to 29 counts of lewd conduct with three boys, ages 12-14.

In pronouncing sentence, Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard Toohey said Sarah Bench-Salorio, 29, had violated the trust parents put in teachers.

"One thing the court cannot escape as it relates to this matter ... is it involved the violation of trust ... the defendant being a teacher in the school system," Toohey said.

The judge said parents "expect there will be appropriate conduct" when they put their children in school.

She will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life.