Baltimore, MARYLAND

There's a reason we call it Trash Education.

April 30, 2008 - After the Associated Press contacted the Baltimore County School system to ask about a coach who was charged in 1992 with inappropriate sexual conduct with several female students, the school district fired Nick Arminio in 2007. At the time he was coaching at Perry Hall High School.

In fact, Arminio was never prosecuted in New Jersey. The case against him was expunged. He did, however, agree to give up his New Jersey teaching license in a deal that allowed him to avoid trial. In 1995, he began as a gym teacher and coach at Eastern Technical High School, which is part of Baltimore County Public Schools. He resigned from the Eastern Technical position in 1999 after New Jersey finalized its revocation, in part because he expected Maryland education officials to follow suit, which they did in 2003.

But Arminio says he cited family reasons in explaining his resignation to the district. That same year, he took the Perry Hall coaching job, a position that does not require a teaching license.

What News11 wonders is why a current assistant principal at Perry Hall High School was charged in 1997 with soliciting sex from an undercover police officer in Anne Arundel County. It was part of a month-long sting operation that targeted complaints of lewd activity outside an Annapolis video store.

At the time of his arrest, the vice principal was a teacher at Perry Hall. The criminal case against him, according to the case record, was put on hold. He was retained by the school system and promoted in 2002.

I-Team lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller said 11 News has repeated asked school officials to respond to questions about the decision to fire Arminio and retain and promote the vice principal. They have not commented.
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TT - Armino agreed to give up his license in 1992 and began teaching in another state until 1999 when - after seven years - New Jersey finalized his revocation. It took Maryland another four more years to follow suit. Fifteen years later he was still working with children.

Shouldn't the news babe be asking how a teacher who had licenses revoked in two states can escape detection for so long?