Suffolk, VIRGINIA

Seventh "teacher arrest" story of the day.

May 31 2007 - Carrie Bishop, 33, a teacher at King's Fork High School, turned herself in. She is charged with having sex with a 17-year-old male student.

Police have charged Bishop with contributing to the deliquency of a minor.

Full Name: Carrie Ann Bishop

(Photo from Chesapeake Police Department via WVEC.)

TT - It must be in the news release that the "sex was consensual." No minor can legally consent to sex. The sex was non-coerced.

UPDATE from Pilot Online: A school spokesman says that she no longer works for the school. Bishop had been on administrative leave since May 11. That ended Wednesay. An adult reported the incident to school officials.

UPDATE Jun 2 - KWVY quoted a student at the school.

19 year old senior Sean Jackson knows the 17-year-old and the teacher

"He was running his mouth. If he wouldn't have run his mouth, it'd be okay. She is a great teacher who made a dumb decision," Jackson said.

TT - It was written exactly like that.

San Francisco, CALIFORNIA

Nov 15, 2006 - Dr. William T. Garner, 66, pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.

Garner possessed more than 5,500 images containing child pornography, including images of prepubescent minors and images portraying sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence. He obtained the images through the use of the Internet.

Garner is Professor Emeritus in the School of Education at the University of San Francisco. He was previously the Dean of the School of Education at USF and was the co-founder and director of the Center for Instruction and Technology at USF.

Ironically, the Center for Instruction and Technology promotes the use of computers and other technology in the classroom.

Source: U.S. Attorney's Office press release. (Dated Dec 12, 2006)
To be sentenced Mar 27, 2007.

May 27 - Gardner was sentenced to 63 months imprisonment. He was ordered to pay $50,000 community restitution to the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center. Judge Walker also sentenced Garner to three years supervised release. He must report to prison by June 18, 2007.

Source: United States Department of Justice Press Release. (Dated May 27, 2007)

TEXAS

May 31, 2007 - Gary Wise, 61, a former University of Texas professor who was fired in 2000 was arrested when he started shooting at the College of Engineering and at College of Engineering Dean's house. He's been in jail every since on the shooting arrest.

Now he's being charged with solicitation of capital murder for trying to hire a gang member to kill four of his former colleagues and his ex-wife. He specifically wanted the gang member to use an AK-47 to kill the Dean. The inmate wore a wire.

It took three years to fire him.
Arrest Warrant for Wise. PDF Dated May 27, 2007

Millbrook, ALABAMA

Story dated Mar 5, 2007 -
Daniel Platt, 50, an English teacher Middlebrook Middle School teacher, has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.

Millbrook admitted possessing hundreds of images of children engaged in sexually explicit activities, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Platt also faces state charges of sexual abuse and sodomy involving an 11-year-old girl. The girl was not a student of Platt’s. That case has been continued pending resolution of the federal charges.
Full Name: Daniel L. Platt

U.S. Dept. of Justice Press Release (Dated Mar 6, 2007

Platt is also facing charges at the state level for sexual abuse and sodomy of an 11-year-old girl who was not a student or former student of Platt’s. Platt was arrested for those charges on March 7, 2006. The state case, which is being prosecuted by District Attorney Randall Houston, has been continued pending resolution of the federal charges. The sexual abuse charge is a class C felony punishable by a sentence of one year and a day to up to 10 years. Sodomy is a class A felony punishable by a sentence of 10 years to life.

Update May 31 - Platt was sentenced ten years in prison and lifetime supervised release for possession of hundreds of images of children involved in sexually explicit activities. He still faces sex charges for sexual abuse and sodomy of an 11-year-old girl.

He joins a long list of educators
sentenced for child pornography in the last eight months.
Educators pleaded guilty but are not yet sentenced.

Tampa, FLORIDA

Sixth "teacher arrest" story of the day.

May 30, 2007 - Aurelio Gonzalez, 28, a teacher's aide. at Tampa's Liberty Middle School, was arrested on aggravated child abuse charges for violently shaking and beating a child.

He was babysitting the one-year-old baby.

The police report stated that the baby wouldn't stop crying so her babysitter shook her four to five times, according to sheriff's deputies. He waited 10 minutes to see if she would stop. She didn't.
This time, Gonzalez closed his fist and hit the infant on her head four to five times, according to the arrest report.

She died of her injuries. He is being held without bail.

Clark County, NEVADA

Fifth "teacher arrested" story today.

May 31, 2007 - Thomas Gaff, 21, a tutor at Sierra Vista High School, was arrested and charged with with three counts of sexual misconduct with a student and three counts of statutory sexual seduction.

This is the fifth time in just a matter of weeks, a local educator is accused of misconduct with students.

This comes one day after News 3 learned this local elementary school teacher was arrested for lewdness with a minor. Police say Don Smith is a music teacher at Myrtle Tate Elementary and they say he inappropriately touched a former female student there.

And just two weeks ago we learned three Foothill High School teachers connected to the athletics department are being investigated internally. Right now these are just accusations, no criminal charges have been filed. The school district says the accusations all come from separate incidents.

Collective Bargaining and Unfunded Pensions

Collective bargaining, teacher contracts, and arbitrators are how we run our schools now.

ISSUE OF THE DAY
The Sandusky Register (Ohio) got a copy of the arbitration between a school district and the teacher's union and put it online.

TT - These are the kind of labor negotiations that led to the bankruptcy of Ford and Chrysler. The salaries and benefits for every state and local employee are negotiated the exact same way.

Not only that, when they retire, we -- as the lucky taxpayers -- will pick up the cost of unfunded pension funds. And there are plenty of them. Everywhere you look. Some are worse than others.

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MICHIGAN - "Michigan's education time bomb: Costly, loophole-ridden retirement system threatens public schools" (One of three part series. Excellent analysis from the Detroit News of the problem that isn't unique to Michigan. Part 1 here Part 2 here Part 3 here )

The impact could be devastating to public education in Michigan, the only state that makes its schools bear the entire burden of retiree pensions and health care. This year's bill -- an estimated $1,015 per student -- is more than schools spend on books, buses, computer technology and building maintenance combined.
And it's going to get worse.

Michigan pays for lifetime health care for employees who, in some instances, work as few as five years in public schools.

The Detroit News is upfront about the reasons for the looming disaster.

Cobbled together by two decades of amendments, protected by a powerful union and ignored by a timid Michigan Legislature, the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) is headed for a financial crisis that could devastate schools and ultimately threaten the benefits of thousands of Michigan retirees.

Today, the school retirement system is buried under $25 billion in unfunded liabilities for retiree pensions and health care.

Check out their interactive Teacher Pension Legacy Cost. (Links to stories and extras at the bottom.)

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LLINOIS - In a story titled, "Six-Figure Public Servants," ABC7 Chicago says that of the 100 highest drawing pensioners in the state of Illinois, 94 are educators.

Official records show that 18 former state employees -- all of them university or public school educators -- each receive more than $200,000 a year in pension benefits. Most of it is covered by Illinois taxpayers.

"I don't blame the teachers for taking it. I blame the school boards for allowing it to happen. You have four soccer moms and dads on the school board with no concept many times of business practices," said Zettler.

The State of Illinois has a $40.7 billion unfunded liability.

TT - Blaming school boards and soccer moms is ridiculous. Teachers' unions make it a point to elect teachers to school boards and to legislatures for just this purpose.

At one time 40% of the legislators in Alabama were teachers, ex-teachers, or married to teachers. (Brimelow, Peter, "The Worm in the Apple," published by Harpers Collins, pg 81-82).

The most generous concessions to teachers come from legislators.

Ellsworth, WISCONSIN

You cannot make this stuff up.

May 30, 2007 -Two teachers have been placed on paid leave while investigations continue into gun deliveries to the school.

Scott McLeod and William Lewis are both licensed gun dealers, both denied they had done anything wrong. Neither has been charged with a crime.

School Superintendent Kaler said agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) told him they believed guns were shipped to the school on more than one occasion.

[Police Chief Greg] Place described the firearms delivered to the school only as "long guns" and said they were packaged and new. He said that he had never heard of guns being delivered to a school, "not in my 20-some years of law enforcement here," but said his department and the ATF were investigating.

TT - UPS delivered the new, long guns.

Columbia, MARYLAND

May 31, 2007 - Kirsten Ann Kinely, a Hammond Middle School teacher, has been indicted on with three additional counts of third-degree sex offenses.

She was arrested last February and indicted on third-degree sex offense charges. She was also charged with sexual solicitation of a 15-year-old boy.

No other details available.

Grand Island, NEW YORK

Fourth "teacher arrested" story of the day.

May 31, 2007 - Michael Zuch, 33, a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Veronica E. Connor Middle School, was arrested for allegedly viewing “inappropriate adult photographs” during classroom hours.

He was arraigned, charged with attempted endangering the welfare of a child.

He was listed in “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers” in 2005.

June 1 - “He’s been placed on administrative leave indefinitely, effective [Wednesday] afternoon with the arrest,” Grand Island School Superintendent Robert W. Christmann said Thursday. “He will be on administrative leave until we complete the investigation on our end.” PAID administrative leave.

Gloucester, MASSACHUSETTS

See how easy it is to reform when a union isn't there to stall change? Or use proposed reform as a bargaining chip?

May 30, 2007 - Because a volunteer coach who worked in the Gloucester girls youth softball league this season was found to be a convicted sex offender, the league will now mandate criminal background checks of coaches and volunteers.

We found him within 24 hours of being notified, and before anyone got together again the problem was taken care of. It was a nice tip to get, and everybody did what they’re supposed to do. The problem was removed from the field," saidLouis McGrath, Cape Ann Girls Softball League's commissioner.

The volunteer, Robert Marshall Jr., 38, was convicted of rape and abuse of a child in 1988 and must register with the Gloucester Police Department as a sex offender, according to police. He was also charged with, and acquitted of, assault with intent to rape in 1992. He failed to register will police as a sex offender.

Marshall pleaded guilty in Gloucester District Court to failing to register. He was sentenced to eight months of probation.

Background Checks for Private schools

May 31, 2007 - News item:

Illinois is now the first state in the country to offer federal criminal history information of potential employees to private schools. Governor Rod Blagojevich says the Adam Walsh child protection and Safety Act of 2006 is now going to be implemented across the state. The Act allows private schools to go through federal background checks for potential employees. Previously, only Illinois public schools were allowed to receive this information from the FBI for emplyment screening.

PRESS RELEASE from Illinois Governor's Office. (Dated May 30, 2007)

Teacher Tenure

Remember when teachers used to be proud of their academic achievements instead of bragging about their sex lives?

May 31, 2007 - Robyn Brody-Kaplan, 38, self-described as "an openly gay teacher" at Columbia High School, was denied tenure. The decision was made at board of education's hearing room. "We were attracted to this community because of its appreciation of diversity," she said, several times choking up.

The school denies decision was ever about her sexuality but said she was not recommended by the administration to be rehired.

"There was only one factor, and that was her performance as a teacher and the quality of instruction," said Mark Gleason, board president. "The other factors discussed tonight were not part of the process and shouldn't be."

TT - If a teacher was publicly self-described as a sadist or a masochist or a transvestite, would they claim that they, too, should be retained because of their sex practices?

South Bend, INDIANA

Sentenced for not reporting teacher misconduct. Check out, though, what she didn't report. You decide.

Dec 22, 2006 - Lela Warren, South Bend Community School Corp. administrator who had been the Greene Intermediate Center principal, has been ordered to appear in court Jan 24th.

She is accused of not reporting special education students’ allegations of sexual misconduct by a former Greene teachers aide. The aide, Schmeca White, 28, was sentenced in October to 9.5 years in prison for sexual misconduct with a minor, vicarious sexual gratification and battery for her in-classroom behavior with students ages 11 to 15 in late 2004.
[Our blog entry for Schmeca White.] <------ CHECK THIS OUT. Prosecutors say a teacher told Warren of students’ complaints against White, but Warren never contacted authorities. Prosecutors say because Warren didn't think the allegations were a "huge issue." Failure to make a report is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Update Apr 26 - Warren was scheduled to appear in court today, but her hearing was postponed. She will appear in court on May 31.

Update May 31 - Warren was fined $315 and was placed in a pre-trial diversion program, which means the Class B misdemeanor charge she faces for failing to report the complaints will be dropped after one year if she keeps a clean criminal record.

South Bend Tribune: Warren is now an administrator for South Bend Schools.

Background Checks - Oregon

May 31, 2007 - Oregon legislators are considering a bill that would expand background checks to include any employees, contractors or volunteers a school district feels may have direct, unsupervised contact with students. It is Senate Bill 724.

At bottom of the article: "The original SB 724 allows former prostitutes to become teachers in certain circumstances." [We noted that here at TT.]

Cobb County, GEORGIA

May 31, 2007 - Darleen Gable, a teacher at Tapp Middle School, was arrested after authorities say she stole more than $4,500 from a fundraiser intended for a field trip to the Georgia Aquarium. The trip was canceled after the money disappeared.

School officials believe Gable also stole an unspecified amount from another school club.

She was fired earlier this month.

Pendleton, INDIANA

May 30, 2007 - Donald R. Julian, 67, a chemistry at Pendleton Heights High School, was sentenced to a a 10-year suspended sentence and four years probation.

He pleaded guilty to one count of sexual misconduct with a minor, a Class B felony for fondling a 15-year-old girl. (The article doesn't say if she was related, but he accosted her in her bed.) Julian admitted to fondling the girl and said at the time he was battling depression. He reportedly admitted to his wife and pastor what happened. Julian then called a child-abuse hotline and reported the incident.

The prosecution asked that Julian be given a minimum of six years in prison, "but supporters, professional accolades, and health problems convinced Judge Thomas Newman to give him a leaner sentence."

TT - What, one wonders, would it take to get those people and the judge to give the same consideration to the victim that they give the molester?

If the teacher had been a plumber or a grocer or a truckdriver, you can bet he would be doing six years, be labeled a sex offender, and be vilified for life. The lesson to the victim is that it depends on who assaults you.

Electra, TEXAS

Most parents contact school authorities when physical abuse happens in the classroom. Sometimes, however, they ought to go straight to police.

May 30, 2007 - Donna Bowden, 52, a pre-school teacher at Electra's Elementary School, was arrested, charged with a third-degree felony for injury to a child for allegedly slapping a child in the face.

Police Chief Johnny Morris says he first learned of the allegations when the mom and little boy showed up at his department. "Mother reported that the son had told her he was slapped in the mouth by the head start teacher."

Morris says the boy had a cut on his upper lip. He says he told the mom to take him to the hospital to have it checked out. "The medical report revealed an injury. We saw an injury, took pictures of the injury, and the child made a statement to us with his mother present about how he got it and he didn't waver."

More victims say they filed reports with child protective services, but police say they haven't contacted them. "We were never told of these instances. The parents and the child did not ever come to report this as such."

TT - Always ask the reporting authority whether they have contacted police. Ask for proof of the contact in writing. If you feel your complaint hasn't been addressed adequately, follow up yourself. A split lip isn't the same as a swipe with a ruler. It's violence and it's a red flag that other children might receive the same treatment.

Teacher Tenure - ALABAMA

May 30, 2007 - A Huntsville teacher is still being paid two years after being fired, a case that is renewing a debate about teacher tenure.

A bill backed by the Alabama Association of School Boards would immediately remove terminated school employees from the public payroll. It also calls for appeals to be heard by Alabama lawyers familiar with education law, rather than by federal arbitrators with a collective-bargaining background.

TT - BACKGROUND: Under tenure, a fired teacher continues to be paid until all appeals have been exhausted. This is true in just about every state. The union also supplies an attorney for the teacher until the appeals are complete.

In the case in question, Laura Wilson was fired in April 2005. Before 2004, tenure issues were heard by a Tenure Commission who agreed with the districts 80% of the time. The federal arbitrator who heard her appeal reversed her termination. Last August, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals overturned the arbitrator,

saying he wrongly based his decision on collective-bargaining principles rather than teacher tenure laws. Wilson appealed to the state Supreme Court, which has yet to rule.

She continues to draw her $50,847 teaching salary despite not having taught at Buckhorn in more than two years.

TT - The bill is House Bill 831, sponsored by state Rep. Richard Lindsey, D-Centre. You can track the bill here.

Other arbitrary arbitrator stories. HERE HERE HERE HERE

Our Bad

May 30, 2007 - Mesa, Arizona school officials admit they made a mistake hiring Kyle M. Hite as a special education teacher's aide. He was arrested, accused of fondling a student's breast.

According to the district, Hite had no record of criminal activity in Arizona. However, he did have "previous police involvement" outside of Arizona but no criminal convictions, district spokeswoman Kathy Bareiss said in an email [to the Arizona Republic.]

They "overlooked" information that would have raised concerns about the applicant in the second report.

TT - The district won't reveal the results of the second background check, or, more importantly, when the a second report was received.

TT - Link for Hite

Center, TEXAS

May 30, 2007 - Janet Parker, 26, a former Center teacher who resigned as an eighth-grade technology applications and graphic arts instructor, was arrested on 23 charges including sexual assault of child.

The charges are sexual performance by a child , three warrants for sexual assault of a child and 11 warrants for possession of child pornography third-degree felony.

Police investigated in December but were unable to to establish proof until two weeks ago when a cell phone belonged to the same student with whom Parker was suspected of having an inappropriate relationship was examined after it was confiscated at school because of an unacceptable screen saver. Parker's house was searched and two computers examined.

TT - Online stories do not say how old the male student was, but it doesn't matter. Texas has a law that criminalizes sex between a student and a teacher even if the student is of legal age to consent.

KTRE reporter Donna McCollum has a long column on the case. She reports the boy was 14-years-old.

From the Daily Sentinel: One of the images found on the boy's cell phone was was one of a partially-nude woman lying on a bed, nude from the waist up, covered by a rebel flag. The woman was identified as Parker by her former husband.

A search of her residence and home computers turned up a rebel flag at the foot of a bed, according to an affidavit. Rebel flag blankets were also found on the bed that matched those found on the cell phone, according to the document.

Numerous photos were reportedly found of Parker and her student on her computer, as well as e-mails, chats and 15 photographs believed to be child pornography, the affidavit said.

School authorities were alerted in December when Parker and the student were seen holding hands in a mall.

LAWSUITS

LAWSUITS
Lawsuits aren't financial penalties for schools or taxpayers because schools carry insurance to insulate them against any financial burden associated with wrongdoing or lax enforcement of their obligations to protect students.. Lawsuits, however, do serve to highlight problems in schools that otherwise are not recognized any other way. The merits of these cases and others will be determined in a court, but lawsuits are useful tools when reform can't be achieved any other way.

NORTH CAROLINA

May 30, 2007 - Despite the school district's attorney's argument that the student’s allegations did not meet the criteria for the claim to be heard by a jury, a judge ordered a trial in a lawsuit by a student who was sexually abused by a teacher in 2002. The lawsuit was filed last year against the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School board and alleges that they failed to take immediate action to stop a teacher’s sexual misconduct.

The teacher, Robert Fulton, 55, was convicted in 2004 of three counts of committing a sexual act against a 17-year-old female student. He was sentenced to 10 to 12 months in prison.

The lawsuit also alleges that officials and the board were negligent because they failed to properly supervise Fulton and terminate him in a timely manner.

The lawsuit also names Fulton. The trial is scheduled to begin June 25.

UPDATE - June 29 - The jury found the district not liable.

CALIFORNIA

The San Luis Obispo County Office of Education and two school districts are being sued by the family of a boy molested by Michael Fitch, (shown left) his middle school teacher. Fitch is serving a three-year prison term after pleading no contest in Oct 2006. District says all employees go through an extensive background check and are rejected if they have a criminal history. The attorney for the victim's family says the School District had a responsibility to act on suspicious behavior prior to the molestation. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

San Diego, CALIFORNIA

Nov 21, 2006 - Carlos Hernandez, 27, Sweetwater High School music instructor, was arraigned on molestation charges for having sex with a student. Two other women who testified recounted similar experiences with Hernandez.

Update: Feb 6, 2007 - Hernandez pleaded guilty to five charges, including having unlawful sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old female student. He will be sentenced Apr 10.

As a result of the plea bargain, 28 sexual assault charges were dismissed. The victim said she went to police last year after learning that Hernandez had been arrested on suspicion of molesting another student. Two other women testified that they had similar sexual experiences with the defendant when they were students.

Update May 30 - Hernandez was sentenced to a year in a residential work-furlough program, ordered to register as a sex offender and placed on five years' probation.

In exchange for the guilty plea, Deputy District Attorney Rachel Cano agreed to dismiss multiple charges of molesting two other girls when they were 17, including a second former Sweetwater High School student and a Vista woman who testified at an earlier hearing that Hernandez had sex with her after she met him on a band trip to Las Vegas.

“I wouldn't want anyone to suggest this isn't a serious crime,” the judge said. But, he said, “it's clear that he's not a pedophile.”

TT - How about calling him a sexual predator?

Newport, KENTUCKY

Nov 3, 2006 - Brandon Hall, 25, a Newport High math teacher, was arrested and charged with two counts of unlawful transactions with a minor - smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol with students at a party.
Three other adults are under suspicion and are thought to be high-ranking officials at the high school.

Nov 5, 2006 - Brandon Hall is accused of selling marijuana to students.

Jan 12, 2007 - Hall indicted. Police were staking out school board member Jim Hesch's house when they arrested Hall. He and his wife were arrested 5 days after Hall. Hesch is still on the school board. His wife has been suspended. [Our entry for Hesch and his wife.]

Jan 22 - Hall pleaded not guilty on charges related to providing alcohol to minors and helping juveniles smoke marijuana. He resigned in November after his arrest.

Not so Board member Jim Hesch or his wife. The Hesches are charged with several misdemeanor drug-related charges, including one count each of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia and third-degree unlawful transaction with a minor. Police say the Hesches were allowing juveniles to drink alcohol in their home on Grandview. She is an English teacher. She was suspended without pay. Jim Hesch remains a member of the Newport school board.

The school board is limited in action they could take against Jim Hesch, Voelker said. He said only the attorney general can remove school board members for violations such as missing three meetings in a row.“Jim never misses three meetings in a row,” Voelker said. “He rarely misses meetings.”

The Heschs' trial is scheduled for Feb 23. [See update for Heschs' below.]
TT - Heschs' entry.

Update Mar 6 - A hearing for Hall has been delayed until Mar 28.

Update Mar 30 - A trial has been scheduled for May 7th .

PLEADED Apr 30 - Hall pleaded guilty Monday to smoking marijuana with students. In the plea agreement, the prosecutor will recommend three years probation. Sentenced May 30.

SENTENCED May 30 - Hall was sentenced to three years probation and a $500 fine. As part of his probation, Hall must take drug and alcohol tests and participate in any recommended counseling.

Pacific Grove, CALIFORNIA

May 29, 2007 - Lynne Fuerer, 65, a Seaside High School teacher, was arrested in connection with the death of the 81-year-old man she lived with.

She is being held on $1 million bail.
Full Name: Lynne Nicole Feurer

May 30 - Details of her arrest are emerging. From the Monterey County Herald:

Fuerer was first picked up by Monterey police at the London Bridge Pub near Wharf No. 2, after she reportedly told a visiting newlywed she killed her husband, said bartender Jason Wallace, who was on duty that night.

Wallace said the bride found a distraught woman in the restroom who told her "I just killed my husband." The groom called police, Wallace said, who took the woman into custody without incident.

Arraignment is likely on Thursday.

UPDATE May 31 - Fuerer made her first court appearance but did not enter a plea. Her next court appearance is June 5th.

UPDATE Jun 1 - An arraignment has been delayed. No cause of death has yet been established for the victim.

UPDATE June 2 - Fuerer claims she was the victim of constant domestic abuse and was defending herself at the time of his death, according to the police report cited in the news story. According to the newspaper, the Monterey County coroner’s office found lacerations on Cupita’s lip and left leg and some bruising or abrasions on his face, indicating blunt trauma, the report says.

UPDATE June 11 - A judge refused to reduce te $1 million bail for Fuerer. A preliminary has been scheduled for August 10. A court appearance on August 8 is to confirm the schedule.

TRIAL ORDERED: Sept 28 - At a hearing Friday, a judge ordered the former Seaside High School teacher to stand trial on murder charges.

Monterey Herald:

Dressed in a plaid sport coat, tan pants and a turquoise shirt, according to testimony, the 81-year-old died with his live-in companion kneeling on his chest, suffocating him, and smothering his face with a pillow as he grappled for his life.

According to testimony, county coroner John Hain determined tiny hemorrhages in Cupita's face and chest areas showed he died of asphyxiation. Bite wounds on his hands and arms and scratches from his own fingernails on his face indicated he was trying to fight off his attacker when he died. There was also blood on his pillow, according to testimony.

Oct 30 - Fuerer will be arraigned this week.

LATEST NEWS - MURDERING TEACHERS

May 29, 2007 - The same jury that convicted school principal Vincent Brothers of the murder of his wife and his three children -- Marques, age 4, Lyndsey, age 2, and Marshall, 6 weeks, and his 70 year-old mother-in-law -- has recommended the death penalty.

Brothers was arrested in 2003. The three-month trial included 200 witnesses, 150 motions by attorneys or the prosecution, a near-complete blackout in the national media, and was noted for the theatrics of the Johnny Cochran-wannabe attorneys who claimed racism, and when that failed, demanded the death penalty if Brothers was convicted.

TT Link for full coverage.

Other murders by teachers also ignored by the media, include James DeGasperin, the West Virginia teacher accused of killing his girlfriend and her 4-year-old son. TT Link

In Las Vegas, a retired Ontario, California school teacher is accused of killing his wife. They haven't been able to find the body, but the evidence doesn't look good for John Watson. His background, discovered after his arrest for the murder, would have, had the school district insisted on 5-year background checks, made their hair curl. TT Link

It really depends on where you live when you shoot your husband. Sharon Daniels got ten years for killing her husband in Kilgore, Texas. TT Link A Jacksonville, Mississippi teacher was found guilty by a jury of killing her husband and was sentenced to life. A judge ordered a retrial as there weren't enough African-Americans on the jury. No date yet for the retrial of Elicia Hughes. TT Link In Augusta, Georgia, third-grade teacher Tracey Harley was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her husband. She had help in the killing by her her drug dealer. He got life + 15 years. TT Link

A Lansing, Michigan assistant principal, Anthony Dixon, shot an killed his ex-wife's boyfriend and the man's brother before he killed himself two days before Christmas. TT Link

A Lexington, Kentucky school teacher, Courtney Bishop, is accused of the death of her infant son. TT Link

Carla Hughes, another Mississippi teacher, is accused of killing another woman and her unborn child. TT Link

Kansas City, MISSOURI

May 29, 2007 -

John Enness, 68, a retired Kansas City elementary school teacher, was indicted for using four minor boys to make child pornography.

An affidavit alleges that Enness used a covert motion detector camera hidden inside an alarm clock to videotape the boys while they were visiting his residence. Enness told police officers that one of the bedrooms at his residence was used by neighborhood boys when they spent the night with him. Enness downloaded the videos captured by the hidden camera to a computer, the affidavit says.

Count Five of the federal indictment alleges that Enness was in possession of child pornography on May 10, 2007.

Full Name: John Edward Enness

U.S. Attorney's Office Press Release Dated May 29, 2007

GUILTY PLEA May 25, 2008 - Enness pleaded guilty in federal court today to secretly videotaping four minor boys in order to produce child pornography. Enness also admitted that he possessed two safety deposit boxes that contained more than 200 CDs with thousands of images and videos depicting child pornography. U.S. Attorney's Office News Release (dated May 25, 2008)

[updated June 30, 2008. No sentencing information yet.]

TEACHERS Sentenced or Guilty and Awaiting Sentencing for Child Pornography. LINK

Lawsuit

This will wake up school districts across the country.

News Item dated May 29, 2007 -

Attorney Jeffrey Herman, "who has filed the majority of cases alleging abuse by priests", has filed a lawsuit in Broward County, Florida, on behalf of a student who alleges rape by a Broward teacher.

The lawsuit alleges that two different females complained to school officials in the 2004-2005 school year that the teacher, Conrad Hoever, sexually assaulted them. The lawsuit contends that the school principal and the Broward County School Board had notice and knowledge of the complaints. They took no action and allowed Hoever "unfettered access to young girls at the school. " Nor did they warn parents. [TT link to Hoever.]

What makes the lawsuit unique is that it alleges the School Board violated the girl's civil rights and Title 9, her right to be educated free of sexual harassment. Because those are federal laws, the girl could win more than the state cap of $200,000 on awards against governmental agencies.
Lawsuit PDF

TT - The Sarasota Herald Tribune (FL) had a series in March called "Broken Trust" that revealed the extent of non-reporting, inadequate investigation and deals that allowed abusers to remain in the classroom. We covered it here.

The Sarasota Herald Tribune is owned by the New York Times. The NY Times also owns the Boston Globe, the paper that began the investigation of sexual abuse in the Catholic church and led the way for staggering lawsuits that have bankrupted many dioceses.

15- 17 days Sick Leave each year

Maine teachers are given 15-17 paid sick days for a 180-190 day work year.

News Item May 28, 2007 - The Sun Journal reports on teacher sick days in Maine.
The union claims that exposed to many viruses because they work in confined spaces and need the days. However,

According to a Sun Journal survey, most teachers don't come close to using all of their sick time. In Lewiston the average was 6.4 days; in Auburn, 7.4 days; in Rumford, 9 days. Fayette had the highest average, 10.5 days; Sabattus had the lowest, 4.2.

(Every newspaper that picked up the story refers to surveys, plural, as though multiple surveys were done that confirmed the figures.)

The Sun-Journal also reported that, according to data gathered from school departments, Auburn budgeted $281,807 last year for substitute teachers; Lewiston budgeted $310,000; Jay, $113,800; SAD 17 in the Oxford Hills area, $200,000; and SAD 39 in Buckfield, $60,000.

Teacher sick leave, though, is part of a larger issue.

"Teacher sick time is very indicative of how things are," said Ron Potvin of the Small Property Taxpayers of Auburn. One frustration the taxpayer group has is the city's inability to rein in or even probe negotiated benefits and salaries. There's a "stranglehold" on contracts, and no ability to debate the costs, Potvin said.

TT -THE NEXT TIME you look at your school budget, question how many sick days are actually taken annually by teachers. Actual days. Ask how much is budgeted for substitutes and how it is spent.

Paid Administrative Leave

"... the employee continues to receive pay until the matter is resolved by a hearing officer through a very lengthy legal process, usually lasting 18 months." ...

Part I

Part II

Part III

Paid Administrative Leave

Paid administrative leave makes bad hiring decisions go away.
At taxpayer expense.

Spokane, Washington
News story dated May 17, 2007 - A Spokane teacher is still being paid seven months after he resigned for viewing large amounts of sexually explicit material on his North Central High School computer.

When Spokane Public Schools officials accepted his immediate resignation, they agreed to let Wakabayashi use a combination of sick leave and paid administrative leave to fulfill the unused portion of his teaching contract.

"The way the state law is constructed regarding teacher contracts, once a contract is offered it must be honored for the remainder of the year," said Barb Wright, associate superintendent of human resources.

By accepting his resignation the district ensured that Wakabayashi was immediately removed from teaching, and the district avoided a lengthy investigation, officials said.

"When that happens, the employee continues to receive pay until the matter is resolved by a hearing officer through a very lengthy legal process, usually lasting 18 months," Wright said.

Besides the porn, he kept himself busy at school ordering online items, like a pair of pantyhose supposedly worn by a porn model named Carley Marie. The pantyhose was sent to the school along with explicit catalogs of DVDs and videos.

The amount of explicit images and material found was the "largest amount of stuff ever" collected during a district investigation, school officials said.

An ongoing state investigation will determine whether Wakabayashi keeps his teaching certificate.

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Seaside, Oregon
News story dated May 21 - "Former superintendent-principal John Seeley resigned from the school district earlier this month, and a separation agreement took effect May 9. He had been on paid administrative leave since last October, along with his wife, a Jewell kindergarten teacher, pending the results of a criminal investigation and subsequent felony charges of child mistreatment. " [TT - ** The school board accepted his resignation and then gave him a consulting contract until 2010 when he retires. He can't step on school property but he's on the payroll. Should he be convicted, he'll still be paid, only a lesser amount.]

At the bottom of the story, "District business manager Patti Drew has also been on paid leave for much of this year. Her contract is up for renewal this summer."

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Perry County, Indiana
News story May 17 - "The Perry Township School Board's accusations against embattled Superintendent H. Douglas Williams have been made public as part of a federal lawsuit after the board kept them private for more than seven months."

The superintendent was placed on indefinite paid administrative leave in November 2006.
He is suing the board.

---

TT - If a teacher or an administrator is so undesirable that they are removed from the classroom or the office, why should they be paid? Who, ultimately, is responsible for contracts that extract no penalty for misbehavior and no consequence for bad acts?

Paid Administrative Leave

Paid administrative leave.
What is the incentive to act appropriately in a classroom?

San Antonio, Texas
In San Antonio, a teacher was cleared of "inappropriate acts" against a 4-year-old student after five separate investigations concluded that the allegations "were not substantiated."
He was on paid leave for two months, returning to the classroom for the last 2 days of school.

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Knox County, Tennessee
In Knox county, nine school employees remained on paid leave at the end of the school year. All nine will continue receiving their salaries while their cases remain open.

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Galveston, Texas
An elementary school librarian remains on paid leave after being charged with with hitting a child with a stack of shelf markers in April. Her trial is scheduled for May 29 before a Justice of the Peace. [Update: all charges were dismissed by the Justice of the Peace.]

She is the third Galveston school district employee accused of assault by contact on a student this semester. A Justice of the Peace dismissed charges against the two, a teacher and a school bus driver. The bus driver was fired. The teacher, accused of kicking a student, was put on paid leave in February and was cleared by the judge "after it became clear from testimony that a witness did not see the incident clearly." After two and a half months of paid leave.

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Clark County, Nevada
Three teachers remain on paid leave pending investigation in Clark County school district. No reasons given. No dates when leave began. News3 KVBC reports they are all coaches and all are being investigated for allegations of misconduct between those teachers and their students.

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TT - These are only a few of the daily news stories where teachers are given paid leave because of classroom conduct. This blog doesn't follow inappropriate discipline because there is no way to follow up.

Maltreatment of students is notoriously hard to substantiate. It's the word of the teacher against the student that rarely results in criminal charges.

The real crime is the lengthy investigative process that dawdles long enough for the parent to be intimidated, the clock to run out until the end of the school year contract, and most often results in no public notice of subsequent letters of reprimand or suspension.

In the meantime, the teacher is given a paid vacation, the parent is often viewed as a troublemaker by the school district, the student is now in hostile teacher territory and the lucky taxpayer foots the bill for both the teacher and the substitute required to fill in at the classroom.

What exacly is the incentive for teachers to behave appropriately in the classroom?

Paid Administrative Leave

Paid administrative leave isn't a punishment; it's a paid vacation.
And taxpayers are the ones picking up the tab.

May 26, 2007 - ABC24 reports that NINE school employees in Knox county remain on paid administrative leave as the school year ends. The employees include a teacher accused of stuffing a rag in a student's mouth and another who allegedly taped a student's legs.

Six of the employees were placed on leave within the last three weeks.

Reportedly, the school system completed investigations in five cases and made referrals to state child services. All nine employees will continue receiving their salaries while their cases remain open.

They quote the Knox County teacher union president who says many teachers are accused of incidents that turn out to be unfounded.

---

TT - That's not true. One of the reasons why this blog does not carry news stories about teachers accused of inappropriate student discipline is that so many of the cases can't be followed up. It doesn't mean that they are not true or that the incidents didn't happen. It means they aren't prosecutable.

The result is the teacher is rewarded for that slap or the inappropriate classroom discipline by receiving a brief suspension that doesn't appear in the public record. Or the teacher is reprimanded by a letter in their personnel file that also doesn't appear in any public record. The public only knows if the state teacher licensing agency chooses to place educator discipline records online.

Tennessee does in the form of board meeting action items.

In April, ten teachers were disciplined. No reasons given. In January, seven were disciplined. Four were given suspensions; three had their licenses revoked, two permanently. No reasons given.

Every instance of inappropriate classroom conduct should be public record. It should constitute public acknowledgement of the responsibility of schools to protect children.

They don't have to provide embarrassing details. They only need to indicate whether it was undesirable classroom conduct or a licensing issue.

Baldwin County, TENNESSEE

The public's right to know, unless you REALLY go to lengths to make sure they don't.

May 26, 2007 - A Baldwin County High School was investigated for "deficit spending," a debt that was revealed by state examiners earlier this year. A forensic accounting firm was hired, but the Baldwin County Board of Education refuses to release the report to the public or the media.

The board asserts that the report isn't a public record because the district lawyer's law firm hired the accountants. The newspaper asserts,

If that's the case, the newspaper argued, a board could route all business through its attorney and shield any matter from public view at any time.

"That's totally a red herring," said [an open records expert for the Alabama press, Dennis] Bailey. "You cannot pay a third party with public funds and shield that activity from the public. ... That has no validity."

When asked whether he's worried about this setting a precedent that allows public bodies to hide information from the public, [Superintendent] Hollinger simply said the board is following [Board lawyer] Lewis' advice.

The lawyer for the school board, however, claims that "Until all employees entitled to due process have exhausted their statutory and Constitutional rights, it would be impermissible to voluntarily disclose the investigation in the absence of the legal requirement to do so."

The school lawyer cites as precendent for non-disclosure, a case that remains out of public scrutiny until "not if, but when" all employees have exhausted their appeals. It's unclear when that would be."

TT - Unionized public employees and unionized teachers in some states are privileged by virtue of negotiated contracts to that kind of legal shielding. It's disturbing, however, when a school board lawyer acts as though he worked for the union, not the public, it rises red markers.

Child Pornography

SENTENCED

GUILTY, TO BE SENTENCED

"Every picture is a crime scene."

Charleston, WEST VIRGINIA

May 26, 2007 - Michael White, Jr., a Cedar Grove Middle School teacher, was arrested after he was pulled over for a traffic violation and police found several bags of marijuana and cocaine packaged for sale in his car.

A search of his home found more drugs. He was charged with possession with intent to deliver cocaine, marijuana and two prescription drugs. The charges are four felony counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

WOWK: "Police found one to three grams of marijuana, two prescription drugs, nine grams of cocaine, scales and other packaging products used for distribution in White's car and home.

"He stated he's been doing it for a while to supplement his income as times are tough as he's a teacher," said State Police Cpl. Larry O'Bryan. "

June 5 - A school board member is calling for mandatory drug testing for teachers after White's arrest. A proposed policy was previously defeated. "Teachers can come down with their signs and bang on the walls, but we've got to have it."

Pratt Elementary School Principal David Anderson was charged with cocaine possession in October and was suspended from his job. Anderson was acquitted by a Kanawha County Magistrate Court jury in February and returned to his post as principal.

COLORADO

Article Dated May 18, 2007 - Mike Rosen, writing in the Rocky Mountain News reports on SB 73 and why it died in "Education's union label".

In February, freshman Democrat, Sen. Chris Romer, sponsored a bill to require schools to adopt competency in the English language as a graduation requirement for high school students starting in 2012.

Rosen writes that Senate Education Committee Chair Sue Windels dismissed Romer as a "wild-eyed newbie," who just doesn't understand the way the game is played.

Under public pressure, the bill was rescued from the Appropriations Committee graveyard and was ultimately passed by the Senate 33-1 (Windels being the sole dissenter). In the final weeks of the legislative session, SB 73 was killed by Democrats in a party-line vote in the House Education Committee, preventing it from coming to the floor for a full vote in the House. Their lame excuse was that the bill would be an "unfunded mandate" on public schools.

He continues,

The ease with which this perfectly sensible bill was killed in the legislature is testimony to the death grip that the teachers' unions have over education in our state.

All four of the Democrats on the Senate Education Committee are current or former members of teachers unions. Of the eight Democrats on the House Education Committee, five come from the ranks of unionized teachers, one is the husband of a former teacher, and another was a winner of the Jeffco teachers union's "Friend of Education Award."

He concludes,

The teachers' unions spend lavishly to get their people elected to public office. As long as they're calling the shots in the state legislature, public education will continue to be subordinated to their special interest at the expense of students, parents and taxpayers.

TT - Outrageous. It's Colorado.

Nashville, TENNESSEE

May 24, 2007 - Ronald D. Huff, a teacher at Hunter’s Lane High School, was charged with disorderly conduct after a sexual encounter in a restroom at the JC Penney store. Police were called to investigate and they found Huff “engaged in mutual masturbation” with another man.

Huff also was charged with criminal impersonation after giving police in Williamson County a false name, date of birth and Social Security number, according to a court affidavit.

The Metro School Board upheld a dismissal request Wednesday.

Metro Nashville Public Schools officials said that this type of conduct is typically grounds for dismissal because it has the potential to affect children in the classroom. Huff still may request a hearing to object to the dismissal charges.

Fresno, CALIFORNIA

May 25, 2007 - Jamie Soria, 36, a a football, basketball and soccer coach at Malloch Elementary School and a church volunteer, was convicted by a jury of of nine felony counts of sexual abuse on a child.

Soria was originally arrested in 2004 when a teenager came forward saying Soria molested him when he was 11. Three other victims came foward. At the trial, investigators read lewd instant messages that they came from Soria talking sexually about young boys. They found child pornograpy on his computer.

Full Name: Jamie William Soria

The verdict got this reaction.

Scott Kinney, Soria's Defense Attorney, says, "When you fight for someone and you really believe in them and you see dirty, rotten liars come in and do a thing like this .... like I said, when a prosecutor gets a conviction on a person who's innocent, they go have a pizza party. I hope it tastes good."

TT- Someone should report this attorney to the Bar Association.

Soria will be sentenced July 9.

Cost of Education - New Jersey

May 26, 2007 - Reported in the Herald News (NJ): New Jersey tops nation in pupil spending, citing a U.S. Census Bureau report.

In New Jersey, the average spending in 2004-05 was $13,800 per student. The Garden State was second only to New York, which spent $14,119 per pupil. Spending in the Passaic school district that year was an average of $15,531, according to Census figures. In the Paterson school district, the average per pupil cost was $16,302.

According to the state Department of Education, classroom instruction accounts for most spending per pupil, largely because of teacher salaries and benefits, class size and types of programs.

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TT - Our take continued on TT-News and Views

WEEK IN REVIEW

Top Stories This Week

COLORADO, SEX, DRUGS AND YEARBOOKS
Colorado has a reputation for wierdness in education. There's Ward Churchill for one. Then last week, it was an inschool presentation to students that advocated sex - either male to male or female to female ("either way"), or with a married partner or not ("It feels the same either way.") and drugs. This week, it was the Conifer High School year book, produced under the guidance of English teacher Amy McTague that incited derision. Drugs, alcohol, students proudly showing their citations for Minor Possession, marijuana and bongs, all were memorialized. Maybe she is looking for a gig with Rolling Stone.

ENGLISH-ONLY IN STANDARDIZED TESTS
A San Francisco judge upheld English-only for standardized tests, dismissing the lawsuit of eight school districts who wanted to conduct the tests in Spanish. It was a legal gamble that the schools hoped would maneuver the issue of standardized testing into the Ninth Circuit Court where the ACLU-judges could strike down testing altogether.

DRUG TESTING FOR STEROIDS
Both the Texas House and the Texas Senate have approved mandatory random testing for steroids. The bills got major support and approval from the Texas High School Coaches Association, the Texas Medical Association, and groups representing public school districts and administrators who testified in support of the bill.

SENTENCING OUTRAGE
An Idaho teacher sentenced to 10 years for sex with a student was released six months in jail. It's called "Bootcamp" or "Shock Sentencing" that allows a judge to avoid the sterner alternative. The judge noted that the teacher had already lost custody of his two children and any possibility of teaching again. He's a sex offender, but you get the impression that the judge would order the school to rehire him if he could.

UNIONIZING DAY CARE PROVIDERS
Day care providers in New York state can now unionize thanks to an executive order by Governor Spitzer. That's a potential 60,000 day care providers who can't be fired whose union dues will ultimately elect Spitzer and his party again and again.

STANDARDIZED TESTING FOR GRADUATION
In Washington state, students are doing so poorly on assessment tests they need in order to graduate that politicians want to delay the science and math tests for another five years. That way, they can postpone educational reform another five years and send students onto colleges who will then charge them top dollar to take remedial classes. It's a win win for the Educational Establishment. They double bill the parents. First, for k-12 education and then college expenses. For the students paying their own way, they will spend a year paying back college loans for classes that won't even count toward graduation.

Assessment testing as a requirement for graduation is also an issue in Texas, at least for the media who continue to call it "high stakes" as though it was a pile of poker chips in a cheesy Las Vegas casino. Some 40,000 students have failed despite the fact that the tests are 10th-11th grade level and can be taken over and over. The no-pass rate documents the failure to teach, a fact that the need for remedial courses in colleges and universities confirms. In every state.

Milford, CONNECTICUT

May 25, 2007 - Tara Johnson, 22, a Jonathan Law High School substitute teacher, was arrested, accused of having an "inappropriate relationship" with an 18-year-old student.

Johnson was charged with second-degree sexual assault after turning herself in at police headquarters. A warrant had been issued for her arrest after a five month investigation.

The arrest followed an investigation that began in December when school administrators told police about the relationship.

She was released on $10,000 bond. Her next court appearance is an arraignment June 12.
The victim was 18 at the time, but state law makes it a felony with a mandatory minimum prison sentence of nine months for anyone in a position of power, including a teacher, to have a sexual relationship with someone under their charge.

TT - Johnson is the 7th substitute arrested this week.

June 12 - Johnson pleaded not guilty. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for July 5.