Teacher Salaries

Dec 30, 2007 - If you want to know what teachers are paid in Southwest Virginia and parts of Tennesee, the Bristol Herald Courier created a database after searching public records from 65 towns, cities, counties and school systems in Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee.

Type in teacher for position for their salaries. (Type in Police or Firemen to compare.)

The salaries don't include supplementals. There are supplements for a master’s degree, supplements for doctorates, supplements for educational specialist degrees and a fourth step in its pay scale for those who have taken classes toward a doctorate but have yet to complete the required coursework.

The editor explains why and how the database was compiled.

Hitchcock, TEXAS

The absurd cost of litigation.

Dec 30, 2007 - A school district settled a lawsuit that was dismissed in federal courts three times. A former teacher and girls' head coach claimed wage discrimination based on her gender.

The district settled the suit for $125,000. The district superintendent said the judge sent the suit to state court, and mediation began in September.

“Just to make the case go away, we paid Goins $125,000,” [District superintendent Michael] Bergman said. “We have an insurance company that participated in that cost, and they opted to pay $25,000.”

Mounting legal fees were cited. The district paid its lawyers from the firm of Walsh Anderson $23,000 to litigate the case in the 2006-07 school year, Bergman said. He didn’t immediately know how much the district had spent on the nine-year case.

Grayson, GEORGIA

Dec 28, 2007 - Marcus Lancaster, 23, a social studies teacher at Grayson High School, was arrested Dec. 21 and charged with sexual battery and sexual assault, a felony.

He resigned after a school district investigation into the alleged assault of a student in a classroom trailer. According to an arrest warrant, Lancaster locked the girl in a classroom trailer and began kissing her and fondling her "intimate parts for the purpose of sexual gratification."

The district will file a report detailing the accusations with the Division of Family and Children Services and with the Professional Standards Commission.

Lancaster is married with a young son.

It is a violation of Georgia law for a teacher to have a intimate relationship with a student regardless of whether the student has reached the age of consent, 16.

Brookland, ARKANSAS

He dressed up like Santa Claus to attack the district Superintendent.

Dec 28, 2007 - Steven Vaughn, 33, a Brookland High band teacher, was arrested after dressing up like Santa Claus and attacking the Brookland Superintendent and his family in their home Thursday night.

Jonesboro police say Vaughn, dressed up in a Santa Claus hat and beard, a red sweatshirt, black pants and gloves and drove to the home of Kevin McGaughey. There he announced ... "I did not have a chance to bring you your Christmas present, so I brought it to you."

When McGaughey invited him into his home, Vaughn, carrying a green container allegedly from the Brookland Football Boosters, pulled a .22 caliber pistol.

"He pulled a gun and ordered them to get on the ground; Kevin McGaughey and his son tackled the man. Both of them fought him until they got the gun away from him," said Detective Kenny Odham with the Jonesboro Police Department.

The superintendent suffered broken ribs, and received 30 stitches after being hit in the face with a vase.

Inside the green container was a five gallon gasoline can, lighter and trash bag. His car outside had fictitious tags. "Found in the vehicle was another 9 mm pistol which was loaded," said Odham. There was also a black magazine with 32 rounds and a smaller magazine with bullets in it.

Vaughn's attorney wants a mental evaluation. Ya think?

Jan 3 - Vaughn's bond has been set at $250,000. He was ordered to relinquish his passport.

In a telephone interview, superintendent Kevin McGaughey said "I am disappointed in his bond. It was extremely low considering the crime. This is a travesty and puts a lot of people at danger. My family and I are still healing and have a lot of healing to do and we are very disappointed."

He is expected back in court Jan 28.

TT - Any judge that let's someone like that out on bail, ought to be impeached.

Maui, HAWAII

The predator was not a teacher, but the judge's colossal stupidity is worth noting.

Dec 28, 2007 - Mark Bennett, Hawaii's attorney general, wants tougher sentencing for Internet predators. He wrote this commentary for The Honolulu Advertiser: "Internet Predators Should Not Get Probation"

A recent Maui case illustrates why we need to change the law. Robert McKnight, 37, chatted over the Internet with one of our agents, whom McKnight believed was a 15-year-old Oahu girl. McKnight solicited her for sex, offered to be her "sexual teacher," masturbated several times on his Web cam which she could see, and described in great detail all the sexual acts he wanted to perform with her, including vaginal and anal intercourse and oral sex. He purchased a plane ticket for her to go to Maui, and he was arrested at the Kahului airport when he went to pick her up.

McKnight pleaded not guilty to the felony of electronic enticement of a child, and went to trial. A jury convicted McKnight, and we asked Maui Circuit Court Judge Joel August to sentence McKnight to 10 years in jail (the Hawaii Paroling Authority would have determined McKnight's minimum jail term before parole eligibility).

Instead, Judge August gave McKnight, who had a prior conviction for abuse of a family or household member, the absolute minimum sentence allowed by law -- probation and one year in jail. Judge August also allowed McKnight to remain free on bail pending McKnight's appeal, finding that McKnight posed no danger to any other person or to the community.

Judge August made the following comments (taken verbatim from the official court transcript) while imposing the minimum sentence allowed by law:

"It is clearly a problem which is to a certain extent cultural based. I mean, there are other cultures, not ours, where having sexual relations with young people is apparently not frowned upon."

"I mean, the last wife that Osama Bin Laden took a few years ago -- I think that was his fourth wife, all at the same time -- I believe was 14 years old. That apparently is not frowned upon in his particular culture."

"(O)bviously there are things that are driving Mr. McKnight which have caused him to, you know, fall prey to certain desires which society has determined to be inappropriate and risking the welfare of minors."

While hopefully no other Hawaii judge would have the poor judgment to believe Osama Bin Laden's alleged 14-year-old wife and "cultural differences" are reasons to give a convicted Internet sexual predator the minimum sentence allowed by law, Judge August's judicial colleagues have been similarly lenient with convicted predators.

This sends the wrong message to such predators, does not act as a sufficient deterrent to potential predators, keeps more predators on the streets and, in a very real sense, endangers Hawaii's children. Convicted Internet sexual predators need to be in jail for a long time, and those who are considering predation need to know that if they are caught, they will go to jail for a long time. That knowledge, hopefully, will deter at least some of them from targeting Hawai'i's kids.

The proposed new law is the Child and Adult Protection and Safety Act of 2008.

TT - This is the judge's official bio. Our view is that no predator should be sentenced to parole for sexual enticement or abuse of a child, whether on the Internet or in classrooms, but it happens every day. And judges who are this ignorant should never have been appointed to the bench. But, thankfully, that doesn't happen every day.

St. Petersburg, FLORIDA

Arrest reported Dec 6, 2007 - Marva H. Dennard, 68, principal of Bishop Academy II, a private school for the disadvantaged, was arrested on charges that she stole more than $250,000 from state voucher programs intended to help low-income and disabled students.

According to state investigators, who said she rigged scholarship applications to receive extra money, she also inflated the number of her students, falsely reported the cost of tuition, and submitted an altered fee schedule to take advantage of the state programs. The school closed in 2005.

She has been charged with grand theft and aggravated white-collar crime, and is being , held in the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail.

Dennard was described as "a prominent community activist."

Flint, MICHIGAN

Dec 27, 2007 - William L. Harshman, 50, a psychology professor a Mott Community College, was arrested and faces two counts of assault with intent to murder plus one count of first-degree home invasion.

He is accused of breaking into a home on Christmas Eve and stabbing two people. Police say he had a hit list of eight people he wanted to kill. Harshman allegedly called a former student about 30 minutes before the attack and told her he was standing in front of a house where he was going to kill three people. He is being held without bond.

He is due back in court on Jan. 4.

Christmas Eve stabbings part of 'hit list'
Psychologist suspected in Flint double stabbing

Jacksonville, FLORIDA

ALL CHARGES DROPPED.

Dec 6, 2007 - Aaron "Coach" Jackson, a teacher at Paxon Middle School, was arrested and charged with with child neglect and encouraging someone to commit an act resulting in injury to a child.

Reportedly, he called the parent of a 13-year-old boy and encouraged a father to come to the school and beat his son with a belt. The father did and was arrested. A police report states that after the attack the boy was shaking and had a large cut above his eye, a swollen arm and bruises. The father was charged with child abuse.

The 13-year-old was placed in the custody of a child protective investigator. Jackson has been reassigned at Paxon, pending the investigation.

Dec 22 - The school district is "trying to fire Jackson." The school district allowed the Florida Times-Union to review Jackson's personnel file.

In 1999, the school's principal, Theresa Hodge, formally documented Jackson's actions toward students, parents and staff. In a May 1999 reprimand letter, she cited similar incidents to the most recent one.

"Your demeanor with students has been and continues to be an embarrassment to the entire educational setting," she wrote. "Do not call parents when you are angry or upset."

Hodge also reprimanded Jackson in August of that year, saying that he screamed and punched doors when he was approached about concerns.

The school system referred Jackson for discipline to the state Department of Education that year, which determined that no probable cause existed to suspend or revoke his teaching certificate.

Jackson received mostly satisfactory marks on his annual performance evaluations, including the most recent one in 2006.

TT - Amazing isn't it how school districts can, if they want to, release personnel files? Especially when they want to fire someone. On the other hand, had a teacher had sex with a 5-year-old in the school cafeteria in full view of the entire student body, the records would be sacrosanct. Go figure.

ALL CHARGES DROPPED.

Charleston, SOUTH CAROLINA

SUICIDE.

Nov 15, 2007 - Scott Knight, 38, a West Ashley High School teacher, was arrested, accused of harassing a student.

The student says he made vulgar sexual advances and continually insulted her boyfriend, saying he wasn't good enough for her.

Knight is the second Charleston County School District teacher to be arrested this week. Larry Smith, a teacher at Military Magnet School, was arrested, accused of assault of a high and aggravated nature against a student. TT - Link

The School District responded to the arrests with a press release.

Dec 24 - Knight faces new charges of criminal sexual conduct and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. A woman claims that Knight lured her into his bedroom, after he claimed he had gifts for her. She claims he closed and locked the bedroom door and then pushed her down on his bed. She claims he sexually assaulted her.

Odd note: Investigators are still trying to figure out the connection between the two and how this woman ended up in Knight's apartment

Dec 27 - Knight crashed his car into a tree 8 a.m. Thursday in an apparent suicide, authorities said. A suicide note was found in his car.

Osprey, FLORIDA

Dec 27, 2007 - Dennis Johnson, 27, a seventh grade social studies teacher at Pine View School, was arrested and charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor and sexual battery.

Johnson was one of the sponsors of the school’s Model United Nations Club and the contact was likely made through that club.

TampaBay's10: Police say he had sex with a 17-year-old girl at least twice in his apartment. An anonymous call to an abuse hotline prompted an investigation, and Johnson was arrested.

The police report shows that while under surveillance, Johnson met the teen girl's mother at a restaurant, and admitted to her that he kissed her daughter.

Las Vegas, NEVADA

Dec 27, 2007 - Kenneth Craig, 27, high school track coach at Las Vegas High School and a substitute teacher, was arrested Dec 20 on charge of sexual misconduct with a student.

He is facing a criminal charge after he was accused of getting a female team member pregnant and helping her get an abortion. (LasVegasNow: "The police report says the girl got pregnant and says Craig's girlfriend at the time paid for the abortion." - the only news story to report that.)

Craig's former girlfriend reported the relationship. Craig claims the relationship occurred after the girl graduated, but investigators obtained e-mails and messages between Craig and the then-17-year-old senior that contradict his account. The investigation took seven months.

From San Diego Union-Tribune: Medical records obtained by police through a grand jury subpoena showed the victim had an abortion in June 2006, the same month she graduated, police said.

Craig's ex-girlfriend, Deanna Riddle, told police she suspected Craig had a relationship with the girl, and said she drove the girl to a doctor's office near the end of her senior year in school.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 20.

Orange County, CALIFORNIA

Those year in review stories are often revealing.

The Orange County Register (Orange County, CA) recalls the Education Year in Review.

JANUARY

El Modena High School Principal Brent Bailey Principal Bret Bailey [TT Link] quits his job following a misdemeanor charge against him for engaging in lewd conduct in public.

Bailey, 56, was accused of trying to engage in lewd activities at a park in Fullerton, authorities said. The arrest was made during a sting operation set up by the Fullerton Police Department. Bailey later pleaded guilty.

FEBRUARY

– A teacher at Santa Margarita Catholic High School is put on administrative leave over concerns involving an annual tour of Europe he led, and the principal is put on leave for failing to respond appropriately to the concerns.

Officials at the Diocese of Orange say principal Lawrence Monroe didn't act accordingly on accusations of misconduct against teacher Eric Hansen during a class trip to Europe.
The Sheriff's Department looked into the situation, but didn't find enough evidence to proceed with an investigation. Monroe was later allowed to return as principal. Hansen was then fired. The diocese did not reveal the reason.

Best quote from article: "It is against California law to get into specifics about why we fired the teacher and what happened on the trip," Horan said. "But the teacher will no longer work in any of our schools."

MAY - The newly-hired Superintendent of Capistrano Unified School District decided against taking the job, citing "uncertainty and instability" in the district.

JUNE

– Former Capistrano Unified School District superintendent James Fleming [TT - Link] was indicted on charges of misappropriating public funds in creating an "enemies list" of political foes, making him the highest-ranking school official ever indicted in Orange County.

Fleming, who retired in 2006 after 15 years in charge of the district, was charged with three felony counts that could result in four years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty; his case is pending.

Also in June,

– A former secretary at El Toro High School is charged with stealing more than $150,000 collected via athletic fees, donations and parents' and students' fundraising efforts.

Carlotta McCarthy, 56, of Mission Viejo, took money from the El Toro High athletic boosters while working as a secretary in the athletics department. She pleaded guilty in court, was sentenced to a year of house arrest and ordered to pay back $150,000.

Inexplicably, the education year ends in June.

IN ANOTHER OC Register article on a 12-month Year in Review in Aliso Viejo, they note another teacher arrest.

APRIL Michelle Rossi, 36, is accused of a year-long relationship with a 14-year-old female student nine years ago when she was a teacher at a San Bernardino middle school.

[The newspaper does not recall Rossi's no contest plea in October and sentencing in November. Or the fact that she must register as a sex offender for the rest of her life. TT - Link ]

Mukwonago, WISCONSIN

Dec 26, 2007 - Todd J. Huth, 57, girls varsity assistant basketball coach at Mukwonago High School, failed to show up for a court appearance. He was out of town. A new date of Jan 2 has been set.

He was to have appeared in court to face five felony counts of sexual assault of a student by school staff. He is accused of having sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old girl between July 21 and Sep 3, according to a criminal complaint. He was charged Nov. 27.

He denied having sexual contact with the girl.

Jan 2, 2008 - Huth's attorney plans to file a motion challenging the sufficiency of a criminal complaint filed against Todd J. Huth, 57. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb 14.

PRELIMINARY HEARING SCHEDULED - May 16, 2008

San Diego, CALIFORNIA

Dec 23, 2007 - Doris Alvarez, a former national Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, submitted a letter of resignation. Her resignation comes a week after a University of California at San Diego (UCSD) audit found that three-fourths of reviewed Preuss School transcripts had one or more grades changed — most of them (71%) to benefit students.

Alvarez denies any role in changing grades.

TT - What we found and link to audit - go here.

Portland, MAINE

Dec 23, 2007 - At Yarmouth High School, 17-year-old Zach Hynes has been working with other students to persuade the school board to make a course in Chinese available next fall.

Chinese is now offered at 10 secondary schools in Maine, six of which started courses this school year.

Last month, Maine Education Commissioner Susan Gendron signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese government educational agency to promote educational collaboration between China and Maine, such as having Chinese teachers come to the state to teach, said Don Reutershan, world languages specialist with the state Department of Education.

While 214 Maine high school students now study Chinese, it appears that more would like to do so. The school wants to apply for a grant to help pay for the language teacher from China.

TT - It would be interesting to find out who funds the courses in Chinese. We found out, purely by accident, that Belgium and France have have funded Louisiana’s foreign language program for many years.

The beauty of working in Maine is that teachers there get 15-17 paid sick leave days for a 185 average work year. The Portland Maine school board also wants to hand out contraceptives to 11 to 13 year olds in the middle school as well. (TT LINK and LINK )

Maine, too, was the only state that would not release information about why teachers licenses were revoked to the Associated Press for their November series on teacher discipline. We particularly loved the 21-year-old Brunswick High School graduate with 18 criminal convictions in the past two years who ran for school board in Brunswick, Maine.

But our all-time favorite blog entry is Richard Beebe who told an undercover officer that he got excited from touching his granddaughter's buttocks and sent a picture of a 9-year-old at the school to the undercover officer. He had child pornography pictures of children as young as five years old on his computer. He ended up being sentenced to 60 days of a one-year prison sentence.

The symbol is at the top is cai - wealth, money. Chinese often say money can make a ghost turn a millstone. It is to say money really can do a lot of things.

Gypsum, KANSAS

Dec 22, 2007 - Southeast of Saline School Board member Gary Olson, 43, was arrested - again - on a criminal threat charge. He was arrested in September for threatening to "do a Columbine" at his district's school.

Olson faces trial next month on aggravated criminal threat and other charges related to a Sept. 5 incident. Olson is accused of threatening to harm his wife, Connie, and of going to Southeast of Saline School to "do a Columbine." The school was locked down for several hours after the incident, as authorities looked for Olson.

His wife was a teacher at the school. She has resigned.

Gary Olson remains a member of the school board, but he is barred from participating in board meetings and other school district events as a condition of his probation. [Probation from what isn't clear. Perhaps they mean, "bail"?]

Olson's attorney told the newspaper that he advised Olson to turn himself in, "so some trigger-happy deputy doesn't draw down on him and shoot him."

TRIALS SCHEDULED Jan 24, 2008 - A judge ordered Gary Olson, 43, of Gypsum, to stand trial May 8 in the case involving the county official and April 9 in the school threat case.

Southeast of Saline Unified School District 306 Board of Education site.
(Only the minutes to one board meeting are online.)

Beaufort, SOUTH CAROLINA

Another sweet plea deal.

Dec 23, 2007 - There really ought to be laws to make those plea agreements public. It's rare that we find out just exactly what the prosecution concedes. A glimpse at one plea agreement and the consequence involves Philip Underwood-Sheppard.

Underwood-Sheppard pleaded guilty to molesting nine children between 6 and 23. In 2003, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The Beaufort School District has paid, to date, $4.6 million. The insurance company refuses to cover the payouts. We've asked a half dozen times why was the school liable? Boys & Girls Clubs also paid $2.4 million to six of those students who Underwood-Sheppard molested at the agency's after-school facility at Coosa Elementary School.

Now, another victim has come forward, but Underwood-Sheppard's former attorney, Bruce Marshall, said he privately struck a deal with a former deputy solicitor that shielded Underwood-Sheppard from future charges in exchange for his guilty plea in April 2003.

The result is that Beaufort County Solicitor Duffie Stone will not pursue criminal charges on behalf the latest victim. Stone has not found written documentation of a deal and the former solicitor can't remember. Underwood-Sheppard's attorney doesn't want new criminal charges pursued because he doesn't want to be sued by his former client and cause a retrial. The net effect is that the victim will have to wait until Underwood-Sheppard gets out of prison.

TT - links HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE

And we are still wondering why was the Beaufort County School District was liable for so much money? (The last link above also asks the same question.)

Wapato, WASHINGTON

They urge you to call police if you have information. Only the newspaper doesn't name the suspect.

From Yakima Herald-Republic: Dec 22, 2007 - A Wapato substitute school teacher was arrested after Yakima police said he had sex over the course of a year with one of his 12-year-old students. The charges are suspicion of first- and second-degree child rape.

The 26-year-old suspect met the girl when she was 11 years old at Adams Elementary School and had sex with her on at least five occasions, including once in his classroom. The suspect dated the mother and moved in with them.

ARRESTED KNDO / KNDU Dec 22 - (6:20 pm) The teacher has a name. He is Jesus Barcena, 26. He taught fifth grade at the school for several years. This year he was a substitute teacher.

Dec 24 - The 12-year-old victim told police that her fifth-grade teacher brainwashed her into engaging in sex acts with him in his classroom and at her home for more than a year. She said that Barcenas continued to have sex with her after he began dating her mother and moved in with them.

According to the affidavit, the girl said her teacher gave her $50 for her 11th birthday last year, and that two weeks later they began kissing at school. The girl reported they engaged in sex acts about a half dozen times in Barcenas' classroom during the 2006-2007 school year.

Anyone with information on this case or other related cases is asked to call the Yakima police detectives division at 575-6212.

---

ANOTHER UNNAMED TEACHER - From KIMATV29: Dec 14, 2007 -
A first grade teacher at Camas Elementary School was put on paid leave after coming to school drunk. Sources said it was this same teacher who came to school drunk a few months ago and may have struggled with a drinking problem for years.

A judge ordered the educator to stay away from alcohol after police found the teacher's child waiting in a car outside a bar. There's also a charge of DUI and a hit and run and reckless endangerment charges from early this year.
It gets better.

Witnesses reported seeing the teacher vomit on a field trip and then leave first-graders to wander through a corn maze by themselves while the teacher passed out on a school bus.

There's a clue that the district knew something was going on with the teacher because the former superintendent asked the state's superintendent office to investigate the teacher, but the state never did because the alleged behavior happened during summer break, it didn't affect students or the district

Feb 8 - The unnamed drunken teacher was arrested again.

Canton, OHIO

Dec 22, 2007 - Justin Robinson, 30, a teacher assistant at Canton South High School, faces third-degree felony charges of sexual battery for having sex with a student. The charge is a felony because Robinson worked in a position of authority at the school and became involved with the student.

Robinson joined the Canton South staff at the start of the school year. He has been on administrative leave since the investigation began in early October. Charges stem from an incident in mid-September involving Robinson and a 16-year-old girl. School officials contacted the sheriff’s office in early October after hearing about an incident.

ARREST and INDICTMENT The investigation led to a secret indictment. Robinson was arrested Dec. 5 and spent nearly two weeks in the Stark County Jail before being released Monday on a $50,000 bond. Robinson graduated from Kent State University Tuscarawas in 2004.

His next court hearing is Jan. 2.

Manassas, VIRGINIA

Dec 22, 2007 - TWO teachers from Osbourn Park High School have been arrested on charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Thomas Cole Williams, 27, and Sarah Maureen O'Sullivan, 25, were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Police began an investigation, acting on a tip that there were drugs in their apartment.

William is a technical education teacher at the school O'Sullivan is a special education teacher. Both are unpaid administrative leave.

According to police, a person is charged with possession with intent to distribute if more than a half-ounce is in the person's possession. Police found 8 oz in their apartment and a 22 caliber rifle. The drug charge is a Class 5 felony and is punishable by one to 10 years in prison.

They both are scheduled to appear in court Feb. 8.

Prince William County Police Department site. No online press releases yet.

Shickshinny, PENNSYLVANIA

Jailed again for refusing to wear ankle bracelet monitor that was her only sentence.

July 5, 2007 - Linnea C. Holdren, 45, a special education teacher at Hunlock Creek Elementary School, faces misdemeanor charges, including reckless endangerment and corruption of a minor for allowing her 11-year-old son to bring a 22-caliber gun to school. Twice. Felony charges were dismissed by a judge because of errors on the case documents.

She has been on paid leave since November 2005 when she was arrested.

CONVICTED Oct 5 - Holdren made a break from the courtroom last month. A jury convicted her of endangering children by allowing her 11-year-old son to take a loaded handgun to Hunlock Creek Elementary School in 2005.

On Sept. 20, Holdren bolted for the courtroom door after hearing the jury's "guilty" verdict. It took three county sheriff's deputies and two state troopers to restrain her. She continued to wail inside the courtroom and eventually was carried from the courthouse.

Holdren will remain on unpaid suspension until the Pennsylvania Department of Education rules how the conviction affects her certifications.

She is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 26.

SENTENCING DELAYED Nov 9 - Holdren's sentencing was postponed because she checked herself into a mental facility.

"She has been admitted to First Hospital. They expect it to be a short-term stay," Butera said. "The reason for her admission is some depression regarding the fact she has lost her teaching job and she doesn't know what the future holds for her professionally."

SENTENCED Dec 20 - Holdren was sentenced to nine months of house arrest and another year of probation. The judge also ordered her to stay off school property – for now.

She told Judge Chester Muroski on Thursday she wanted to witness police destroy the gun to make sure it was destroyed so police could not use it as a “drop gun.”
That phrase is used to imply that a police officer would shoot someone, then take her gun and drop it at the scene to cover up the officer’s shooting.

Her remark didn’t sit well with a state trooper. "I’m very appalled,” state police Cpl. John Richards said after Muroski sentenced Holdren to nine months of house arrest and another year of probation. “That does not occur.”

Her words didn’t go over well with [Judge] Muroski, either. He warned Holdren he could extend portions of her sentence. “You’re demonstrating hostility,” he said.

Holdren’s attorney, Michael Butera does not foresee Holdren teaching in the near future.

TT - God, let's hope not.

REFUSES TO WEAR MONITOR Dec 21 - Holden is back in jail for refusing to wear an ankle monitor. A hearing will determine what will happen.

Dec 22 - It appears that Holden might be headed back to a psychiatric facility. Holdren will remain in the facility until doctors say otherwise, her lawyer said.

Holdren’s teaching credentials are still being reviewed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, said Northwest Area Superintendent Nancy Tkatch. Holdren will remain on unpaid suspension until the state agency makes a determination, she said.Holdren’s son was expelled from the school district following the incident and has not applied for reinstatement.

AGING HIPPIE HEADLINE WRITER WARNING Dec 23 - The Times Leader headlines the story of Holden's refusal to wear the ankle bracelet: Teacher rebukes system, gets jailed.

RESIGNATION Jan 22, 2008 - Holden sent a letter of resignation dated Jan 18.

Santa Fe, NEW MEXICO

How one teacher continues to evade prosecution six years later.

Dec 22, 2007 - The New Mexico Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling dismissing five counts former Salazar Elementary School teacher Ernest Dominguez.

The five counts were part of 10 counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor under age 13 for sexual contact with a student who was in fifth and sixth grades at the time. State District Judge Stephen Pfeffer ruled the case could go forward on five of the counts, and he dismissed the other five for being insufficiently specific enough for Dominguez to defend against. The Appellate court agreed with that decision.

Dominguez, 31, who has not yet gone to trial, also faces multiple charges for other alleged victims. He was investigated—but never criminally charged—in Tucumcari in the late 1990s for allegedly molesting boys before he moved to school districts in Espanola and Santa Fe.

LAWSUITS At least four federal lawsuits have been filed against school officials and Dominguez. Settlements in three of those cases—involving two boys in Tucumcari and three boys in Santa Fe—totaled about $1.9 million, according to federal court records.

[One of the lawsuits in the story below claimed the Tucumcari district entered into a confidential settlement with Dominguez when he left the school, agreeing to keep information about him quiet, then turned around and gave positive recommendations to other schools -- including Santa Fe Public Schools -- on his behalf, according to the complaint.]

See Feb 4, 2005 story on Dominguez' and the charges. Dominguez was also featured in a KRQE Nov 20, 2007 story on how troubled teachers are passed to other districts. Secretary of Education Veronica Garcia said that secret deals have happened for decades and not just in New Mexico.

NEW LAWS KRQE reports that the New Mexico legislature passed a law requiring districts to report allegations of sexual misconduct to police. And if the allegations are substantiated it requires the state Department of Education to be notified. In New York state, there is a new law where a superintendent can be charged with a felony for letting a teacher resign, rather than face a sexual misconduct allegation.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL LICENSES Interestingly, a Red Orbit examination of how schools are slow to protect students in New Mexico, dated Sept 6, 2005, found that while education authorities claim they cannot revoke or suspend a teacher's license before a criminal conviction, two of the state's other licensing entities, the New Mexico Medical Board, which polices doctors, and the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court, which oversees lawyers, say they routinely take action against licenses when professionals violate the rules of conduct they're required to uphold, regardless of whether criminal charges have been filed.

Red Orbit found that even after a conviction there is no guarantee that a teacher will have his or her license revoked. Another loophole for teachers they found is confidentiality agreements. Such agreements often prohibit district officials from disclosing why a teacher left. In exchange, the educator agrees to leave quietly and to not sue the district. The agreements often allow teachers to leave a district without a record of allegations of misconduct.

"Teacher ethics are lowered when districts enter into these types of agreements," said Robert Shoop, a professor at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan., who has provided expert witness testimony in a number of states in cases involving alleged student abuse at the hands of teachers. His most recent book is "Sexual Exploitation in Schools: How To Spot It and Stop It."

The charges against Dominguez date back to between Aug. 1, 2001 and Nov. 1, 2002.

Teacher Discipline Records

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Robert Shoop, a Kansas State University professor who has studied teacher sexual misconduct and has called for tougher oversight and more openness by administrators, said a current list of problem teachers should be gathered by each state and made public to better protect students.

"Clearly the public does have a right to know and they should have access," he said.

- In story about the NASDTEC list of disciplined teachers in the Sarasota Herald Tribune.
TT Link

NASDTEC Clearinghouse

NEWSPAPER INVESTIGATION

Dec 21, 2007 - From the Sarasota Herald Tribune (owned by the New York Times): "National database of problem teachers flawed."

The Herald filed a public records request to access to the Clearinghouse database of the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, or NASDTEC. [This is the database used by states and school districts to vet a teacher to see if they had prior disciplinary actions taken against them. It's a non-profit, the database is private and all 50 member states voluntarily report disciplinary actions. At least, in theory.]

FINDING: What the Herald found is that some states report infractions as minor as failure to repay a college loan, while other states may report only misconduct cases that result in a criminal conviction. In those states, a teacher who gropes a student and has his or her license suspended, but is not convicted of a crime, would not appear in the Clearinghouse.

FINDING: Reporting to NASDTEC is voluntary. "As a result, there is nothing stopping states from signing settlement agreements with teachers that keep their names out of the Clearinghouse."

FINDING: "It is unclear how many cases in the database deal with minor issues and how many involve allegations of physical abuse, sexual abuse or other crimes because that information is not included in the version obtained by the Herald-Tribune. "[That information isn't contained in ANY version obtained by members either. See TT notes below.] Although membership bylaws prevent NASDTEC members from releasing information from other states, the Herald-Tribune argued that Florida's public records law trumped any such contractual agreements when they obtained the records from the state of Florida.

NASDTEC director Einreinhofer asked the Herald-Tribune not to publish the contents of the Clearinghouse because some states have laws prohibiting disclosure of the information, and he fears NASDTEC members in those states will no longer report problem teachers if they know the information might be made public.

The NASDTEC data the newspaper received contains about 24,500 names, about 10,000 fewer than NASDTEC officials said existed in the complete database early this year. (Nearly 4,000 of those were from Florida because of the way the database was saved by the state of Florida.)

Number of Teacher Misconduct cases on the database by state. Link

TT NOTES - Not noted in the article, but important to know, is that NASDTEC only supplies the name, date of birth and Social Security number when an inquiry is made by member states. They do not supply any information to member states about the reason for the action or any information about any criminal activity. It is up to the school district or state department of education to follow up on why a teacher's license was revoked or suspended in deciding whether to hire the teacher.

OUR FINDING: What we at TT found was that in many states, failure to repay a loan to the state results in revocation. Whether these are reported or not isn't clear because no two states have the same standards of reporting to NASDTEC. And, as the article stated, those settlement agreements may include not reporting the incident to NASDTEC.

At Teachers and Trash Education, we have been alarmed at the number of teachers who surrender their licenses as part of plea agreements and question whether teachers have used their licenses as bargaining tools for lighter sentences because of the lengthy and costly process it would take to fire them and revoke their licenses. While voluntarily surrender is seen as some states as the equivalent of a revocation, there is no standard that says this so.

Even if a state is conscientious about reporting license revocations, there is no guarantee a state knows about a conviction. (See Herald Tribune series below.) In Illinois, school districts are not required to report disciplinary actions to the state, as reported by Scott Reeder in his series on education in Illinois.

In March 2007, we looked at the Herald Tribune series and the call for a National Registry. Link

Lexington, KENTUCKY

Wants probation after four months of an eight-year sentence.

June 26, 2007 - Anthony Graves, 28, a Bryan Station High School teacher, pleaded guilty for third-degree sexual abuse of a former student, a 15-year-old girl. He also admitted he took pictures of the sex acts.

He was arrested in September 2006. He was fired Sept 18.

He was sentenced to eight years. (Five years for use of a minor under 18 in sexual performance and three years for possession of matter portraying a minor in sexual performance.)

PROBATION REQUESTED Dec 22 - Graves has asked a judge for "shock probation" to allow him out of jail after only four months. Graves admits he had been sexually involved with two minors and is now serving an 8-year sentence for the crime. A last-minute letter from the victim's father, pleading with the judge to keep Anthony Graves behind bars, however, caused the judge to delay the decision.

No date when the judge will decide.

TT - The judge is Judge Kim Bunnell.
If you would like to write to the judge and express your opinion, the address is
Hon. Kimberly Nell Bunnell
Circuit Judge
120 N. Limestone
Lexington, KY 40507-1151

LAWSUIT April 25, 2008 - The victim is suing Graves and the Fayette County Public Schools.

Graves was fired from Bryan Station High School in September 2006, four days after allegations surfaced of sexual contact with another student, who was 15 years old at the time.

The lawsuit states that video footage of the plaintiff and Graves having sex was discovered on Graves' computer during an investigation into the original charge, for which he was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

He was also sentenced to eight years in prison on felony charges of use of a minor under 18 in sexual performance and possession of matter portraying a minor in sexual performance. He has since been released on probation.

Fort Edward, NEW YORK

PAID TIME OFF FOR BAD BEHAVIOR

Dec 21, 2007 - School officials did not alert police when Ann Lilac, a special education teacher Fort Edward Union Free School, was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol at school. She was escorted home and was suspended with pay for two days.

Police, however, were contacted and asked if they would be able to provide an alcho-sensor test, if it should happen again. School Board meeting is being scheduled during which district leaders will discuss the incident in executive session.

Lakeland, FLORIDA

Dec 21, 2007 - John Stelmack, 60, the principal at Scott Lake Elementary School, was arrested and charged with five counts of possession of child pornography.

Detectives started their investigation on Wednesday after talking with officials at the Polk County school district. No other details available. According to MyFox, Tampa Bay, investigators say Stelmack's arrest is the result of an ongoing investigation involving the Polk County School Board and the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Tampa Tribune:

Scott Lake Elementary Principal John Stelmack, 60, was suspended with pay a week ago today after the Polk County School District began an investigation into his conduct around students, Judd said.

District officials searched his office at the Lakeland school. They found a black briefcase with photos of naked young women positioned to look like children. The district then contacted the sheriff's office.

Four copies of a picture of naked women with the head a 10-year-old girl superimposed on the images were found inside, [Sheriff Grady] Judd said. The girl was a 11-year-old Scott Lake Elementary student.

Detectives are serving a search warrant at his home, and further charges could be filed if anything is found. Stelmack is married and has two adult children.

"The photographs that Stelmack manipulated into child pornography are graphic and repulsive," Sheriff Grady Judd said in a press release about the arrest. "To think that a school principal, someone who is entrusted with the safety and well-being of hundreds of school children, would do something like this is incomprehensible."

Stelmack has been placed on administrative leave with pay.

Before coming to Scott Lake, Stelmack was principal in a Buffalo school from 1999 to 2004 and a principal in the Olean City, N.Y., school district. He taught for 13 years in the Elmira City School District in New York.

Polk County Sheriff's Department (Bartow, FL) Press Release (Dated Dec 21, 2007 )
Their mug shot of Stelmack.

Isaac Tillis, 29, a Bartow High School math teacher, was arrested on Dec 19 for soliciting sex from a student for an improved grade. The student was wearing a wire. LINK
Bartow, FL - Wikipedia entry.

ARRESTED AGAIN Jan 10, 2008 - Selmack was arrested again on additional child pornography charges. Today's arrest resulted from computer forensics and charges are 12 counts of child pornography.

SUSPENDED WITHOUT PAY Jan 14 - The Polk County Democrat: Stelmack was suspended without pay at Tuesday's Polk County School Board meeting. Stelmack had previously been suspended with pay due to inappropriate behavior toward certain students, including excessive hugging.

When he was hired, he came up clean. After his arrest, the school superintendent said, she began to hear a different story.

Stelmack had resigned from his old school due to parent complaints after a bus driver was arrested on child pornography charges. The parents had been upset that Stelmack had not taken any action before the arrest, despite a series of complaints against the bus driver.

Prior Lake, MINNESOTA

Dec 20, 2007 - Chris Lind, a former school employee who was elected to the Prior Lake-Savage Area School Board was fired by the same school board in June. While little has been released about his firing, highlights of his personnel file have been released.

In August 2006, a parent complained to Westerhaus about a conversation Lind had with a child on school property relating to the child’s sexual orientation.

Lind received a written reprimand and “was directed to not have conversations with students regarding their sexuality or his sexuality, as this is not part of his duties as a campus supervisor,” [Board chairman] Murray said.

In January 2007, an employee complained to the high school and district about a conversation the employee overheard between Lind and students while he was working as campus supervisor.

“The topic of conversation was bi-sexual relationships,” Murray said. “An investigation was conducted and Chris was subsequently disciplined by being given a three-day suspension for violating the previous directive.”

Murray said Lind was informed that any future violations would result in termination.
In May 2007, a student complained to a teacher that he or she heard Lind tell another student that “today is National Pick-On Lesbians Day,” Murray said. “An investigation was conducted and, based on the previous disciplinary action and directives, the district administration concluded that Chris’s employment should be terminated.”

Lind has stated that he feels he was wrongfully terminated and he has not ruled out filing a lawsuit.

There is an online petition to demand that he release his entire personnel file or resign.

School board web site.
Minutes June 18 board meeting that voted to fire Lind.
The Superintendent resigned after Lind's election. He had recommended Lind be fired. Article notes: "Lind, a devout Christian, had a reputation of befriending and mentoring students in faith."

Omro, WISCONSIN

ARRAIGNED: July 13, 2007 -
David D. Koepp, 40, an Omro School District teacher, was arraigned after being indicted by a federal grand jury with receipt and possession of child pornography in June.

According to the indictment filed in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Koepp attempted to receive a video file via his computer in October 2006 that depicted a four-year-old girl engaging in sexual activity with an adult male. The indictment also charges that Koepp knew he had two images on his computer that depicted young girls engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

In a search of his home, police found a 60-minute videocassette and a shoebox containing 68 computer disks.

According to the affidavit, Koepp told the agents, "he screwed up his life and that he will never get a job again."

Koepp is due back in court Sept. 19 for a pre-trial conference. A trial is set for Oct. 1.

GUILTY PLEA Sept 19 - Koepp pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted receipt of child pornography. He will be sentenced Dec. 18.

He faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, Roach said, or a maximum of 20 years. Once released from prison. In addition, Koepp will be on supervised released for at least five years, but could be supervised for the rest of his life.Koepp will also have to register as a sex offender with both state and federal registries.

SENTENCED Dec 20 - Koepp was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by extensive supervision. Five years is the mandatory MINIMUM sentence, to be followed by seven years of supervised release. Koepp will have to register as a sex offender with state and federal authorities.

Child Pornography and Teachers
TT - List guilty but not yet sentenced for child pornography.
TT - List sentenced for child pornography.

Henderson, NEVADA

Sentenced - not eligible for parole for 22 years.

ON TRIAL: August 8, 2007 - Mark Zana, 39, a teacher at Lorna J. Kesterson Elementary School, is on trial for molesting several students, including a second grader he taught in 1998. He is charged with nine counts of lewdness and 11 counts of child pornography.

Zana was arrested in September 2005. (Yes, the year is right.) Police began an investigation after a woman in Colorado contacted police there, alleging he had abused her in 1998. By October 6, 2006, it was discovered that Zana had been arrested and convicted in 1993 in Pennsylvania for lewd behavior toward two students. His record was expunged and his record was erased.

In many cases school officials cannot deny an applicant a teaching license for an expunged offense because the offender has, for example, gone through a rehabilitation program, [State Superintendant of Public Instruction Keith ] Rheault said.

Story dated Jul 4, 2006 - News reports show Zana was

arrested in 1998 in connection with an allegation that was nearly identical to some of the allegations in the current criminal case against him, according to court records.
The charge in the 1998 case was dismissed after a family decided it did not want a child to have to testify against Mark Zana. Zana had the records sealed and kept his job with the Clark County School District.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal also found out that three years prior (2003) Zana had hidden a video camera in one of his classrooms. The court records also said that at least one of Zana's fellow teachers said he had taken his concern about Zana touching students to school administrators. The police were not notified.

GUILTY: August 13 - Zana was found guilty on 10 of 21 counts. Those include lewdness with a child and possession of sexual photos of a minor. He will be sentenced Oct 4.

KESQ: Zana was found guilty of 3 felony counts of lewdness with a minor and 6 felony counts of possession of child pornography.

SENTENCING POSTPONED: Sept 12 - A judge has postponed indefinitely the sentencing of Zana while the court investigates possible jury misconduct. The juror reportedly Googled Zana. A new trial is possible.

SENTENCING SCHEDULED Oct 4 - Sentencing has been scheduled for Nov 8.

SENTENCED - Dec 20 -

A former Henderson grade school teacher will spend the next two decades in prison for molesting female students and possessing child pornography.

Mark Zana, who worked at Newton and Kesterson elementary schools, will not be eligible for parole for 22 years. Zana was sentenced Thursday after he made an attempt to get a new trial because one of the jurors researched the case online.

A judge ruled that the violation was not enough to overturn the conviction.

From KSBY6 News: Kane was sentenced to 22 years in prison without parole for molesting female students and possessing child pornography.

From KOLO: (Dec 21) The judge rejected results of a psycho-sexual evaluation that concluded that Zana was unlikely to commit the same offenses, citing allegations of inappropriate contact between Zana and young girls going back 15 years. He sentenced Zana to 22 years to life.

The prosecutor said the evaluator did not know about the previous accusations in 1992 and 1998. Those records were sealed until the jury heard about them. After release, Zana also would face lifetime supervision.

Pension Fund Shortfalls

Dec 27, 2007 - The Argus reports that pension funds in Vermont are on solid ground - except for the pension fund for Vermont's teachers. Those are funded at about 84.6 percent.

The Pew Center recently released a report called Promises With a Price, Public Sector Retirement Benefits.

There is another obligation the state owes former workers as well - other benefits like retiree health care, dental and life insurance. Over the next three decades that will mean $552 million to the state of Vermont, according to the report.

NEW JERSEY The pension shortfall in New Jersey is $25 BILLION short of the funding needed to cover its pension obligations as of 2006. In addition, the state faces a $58 billion shortfall for retiree health benefits.

Nationally, only 14 states have set aside enough to cover 90 percent or more of their pension costs.

---

The stories don't' link to the report, but it is here. (pdf)

Pew press release with links to state fact sheets as an overview. Sample

Because of a new rule by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, the states are required to identify these costs in their FY 2008 financial reports. The Pew report is a preview of these numbers.

Portsmouth, VIRGINIA

Dec 20, 2007 - The (ACLU) demanded - yes, demanded - a high school apologize to a student who was punished for wearing a gay pride T-shirt to school.

The student only attends the school for a morning class in hotel management.

If the student had been wearing a "Christ is the reason for the season" T-shirt to promote Christianity, you can bet the Always Clueless Lawyers Union would sue to prevent the First Amendment display.

Honestly, is there a more useless organization in this country? Well, maybe it's a tie with the self-promoting PETA.

Brighton, COLORADO

Honestly, the air in Brighton, Colorado, must be thick with hashish fumes.

Dec 20, 2007 - The newest claim is that Brighton Collegiate High School social studies and German language teacher Ralph Kelly may have been conducting a gay teen sex survey.

Was the school aware of this gay teen sex survey?

Apparently, yes.“I overheard rumors of this survey and heard that it wouldn’t be done without parental permission,” board President Ken Mitchell said last week.

“But no, I was not aware of any of this going on. I’m not sure who may have been aware (of the survey). Maybe (Acting School Principal) Anthony (Matthews) knew about this,” Mitchell said.“But I think it’s just one deal, one kid, one instance.”

TT - Talk about clueless. And then there is this:

The Brighton Standard Blade has learned that another student went to Matthews several weeks before the reported assault at the school to report improper conduct by the same teacher.

Asking to remain anonymous, the student and his parent said they went to the school office after the student said he was approached by Kelly to answer questions and give input on the openly gay teen study.

“My son was embarrassed that he was thought to be gay because of his friendship with the victim,” the mother of this second victim stated. “After he was approached to answer these study questions, we went to Matthews’ office and reported it.

“He said he was aware of the sessions being conducted by Mr. Kelly,” the mother reported. “Matthews was aware of Kelly’s pursuit of students to participate in his study concerning openly gay teens in the high school.”

But Matthews saw things differently. “All we knew was that he had requested to do a diversity study,” Matthews said.“He brought the subject up with Ms. (Erin) Selleck,” Matthews said of the school’s dean of students.“She said she needed signed parental permission. We never saw anything in writing, no actual questions. We did not approve anything because the process was never followed through.”

No one seems to know anything. Kelly is the THIRD teacher in the 15-teacher school to be arrested. Link to Kelly

After McCandless and both Mundy's were sentenced, the charter school was renamed.

See David Mundy and Carrie McCandless and David Mundy, Sr.

Lynwood, ILLINOIS

Parents claimed he called some of their children "White trailer trash."

RESIGNATIONS Apr 13, 2007 - Sandridge Elementary Principal Leroy Coleman and science teacher Janet Lofton both resigned after someone mailed a 2½-hour disk of the two of them having sex in his office.

The camera that captured the scenes appeared to have been hidden without Coleman’s knowledge. A second woman, also a teacher, appeared on the video. Investigators are trying to track down the person who recorded the sessions, a police source said. Parents were outraged.

Apr 16, 2007 - Coleman apologized to the children at Sandridge Elementary School and his wife of 30 years. CURIOUSLY, School board president Cheryl Ward has speculated the DVD’s release was timed to affect the school board election Tuesday.

June 17 - The School Board has recommended Coleman's and Lofton's education credentials be suspended or revoked due to unprofessional conduct. Two June dates were offered for a hearing. Coleman's lawyer asked for a 30-day extension. Lofton did not respond.

The regional superintendent can suspend certificates up to one year. And even if certificates are suspended, educators have a right to appeal to the State Teacher Certification Board.

UPDATE August 3 - Inside Edition was scheduled to air a story on Coleman. Three incumbent School Board members were defeated in the April 17 election.

HEARING Nov 30 - Coleman is scheduled for a hearing today regarding the possible suspension of his education credentials. The hearing will be held at the Suburban Cook County Regional Office of Education in Westchester. Superintendent Harry Reynolds and an ethics officer will ultimately recommend to Flowers whether Coleman's teaching and administrative certificates should be suspended for up to one year. The hearing will not be open to the public.

The district also is suing Coleman for his pay between December and May, and the Illinois Teachers Retirement System for more than $100,000 in early retirement penalties charged to the district after Coleman opted for early retirement.That lawsuit accuses Coleman of breach of duty and breach of contract when he had sex with subordinate employees during the school day.

APPEALING TO THE STATE Dec 20 - The school district is asking the state Superintendent of Education to revoke Coleman's license. They want the state to conduct a public hearing and revoke, or in the alternative, suspend for five years Coleman's administrative and teaching certificates.

School board attorney: "We think because of Dr. Coleman's actions, (his certificates) should be revoked. We asked (the regional superintendent) to do it, and he did nothing," [Alan M.] Mullins said. "We don't care who does it, we just want someone to do it." The district refused to participate in a closed door hearing.

TT - For a look at how Regional Superintendents operate in Illinois, see "Superintendents become de facto investigators," an investigation by Scott Reeder of the Small Newspaper Group. The Regional Superintendents are, get this, -- former teachers and administrators -- with absolutely no training in investigation who end up doing very little.

Of those 70 regional offices of education, only 24 have taken any action in the last decade.

Of the 24 regional offices of education that have taken any disciplinary action, about eight took discretionary action for a noncriminal offense such as immorality or unprofessional conduct.

In a decade.

Virginia Beach, VIRGINIA

Sounds like a bad plot for a t.v. series.

SCOTT SENTENCED - August 6, 2007 - First there was -
F. Devin Scott, 34, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for his part in a murder-for-hire plot.

Allegedly, Jay Glosser, 53, (right) a Tidewater Community College professor, asked Raymond Groves, 38, a friend and neighbor, to kill Kimberly Perez, an associate professor at Tidewater. Perez had accused Glosser of sexual harassment. Glosser is alleged to have offered Groves $10,000 to kill the woman. Groves then went to Scott and offered him the money to kill Perez.

Story dated June 10, 2006 -

Glosser was worried that the complaint might cost him his job. “Because he was concerned for his job,” [prosecutor David] Laird said in court, “he was going to have her killed.”

Police have a recording where Grove and Glosser talked about "Taking her out."

Perez hired a private detective to find out who was sending her death threats and she and the detective later contacted police. Glosser has an 11-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter. His wife teaches music at an elementary school. Groves owns a trucking business and "is married to a teacher with a master's degree." They have two children.

GROVES CONVICTED - July 12, 2007 - Groves was convicted by a judge of of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit extortion and criminal solicitation. He will be sentenced on September 23.

GROVES SENTENCED - Oct 10, 2007 - Groves was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, plus 15 years for conspiracy to commit extortion and criminal solicitation. The judge later suspended all but eight years of the sentence.

Glosser is scheduled to appear for trial on July 30.

GLOSSER GUILTY PLEA & SENTENCING - Dec 20 - Glosser reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, in which he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, solicitation and conspiracy to commit extortion. He waived his pre-sentence report and was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years with all but eight and a half suspended.
Photo from Virginia Beach Sheriff's Department