And the problem is....?

[slide_advantage_redoux]

Maybe I am being too liberal here, but I think that everyone is over reacting by firing the two teachers involved in this story. After all, the door was locked and they had paper covering the windows (but obviously not well enough). Read on. My guess is that if that this happened in France, nothing would have happened. Big deal.

Teachers Quit After Students Witness Sex

By Associated Press

Thu Jun 8, 5:39 PM

TAMPA, Fla. - Two middle school teachers resigned after students saw them having sex in a classroom, the school district said.

Frances J. Sepulveda, 30, and Bryant J. Wilburn, 29, said they had sex in the classroom during school hours on "one or two occasions," according to an investigation by the Hillsborough County school district.

They resigned last month after two students at Coleman Middle School reported they saw the teachers having sex. The classroom door was locked and a window was covered with paper, but a boy and a girl told school officials they could see inside.

"These teachers showed appallingly bad judgment," school district spokesman Steve Hegarty said Wednesday. "We dealt with it quickly, and the teachers are no longer welcome in the Hillsborough County classroom."

State officials will determine if the teachers will be allowed to work in other schools.

Both teachers have unlisted phone numbers and could not be reached for comment Thursday. Wilburn told the St. Petersburg Times he was embarrassed by the incident.

[brownie]

Maybe I am being too liberal here, but I think that everyone is over reacting by firing the two teachers involved in this story. After all, the door was locked and they had paper covering the windows (but obviously not well enough). Read on. My guess is that if that this happened in France, nothing would have happened. Big deal.

In France, they would probably have been reprimanded for not being careful enough. And been advised to go to a hotel next time!

[Claude]

I consider myself a liberal, but I think having sex at work is quite a misconduct, independently how discreetly it is being done. Not that these teachers must be fired immediately, but the decision by the school directors is defendable. Especially since teachers have a certain model function, and the loss of authority of these two teachers toward their pupils must be huge.

BTW, what shocks me more is the fact that this news items states the full names of the teachers. That's not necessary. They are not sex offenders that people need to be warned about. They could suffer from the consequences for years to come, for example when looking for a job. The potential employer googles for their names and finds out about this embarrassing but insignificant incident.

Edited June 9, 2006 by Claude

[Mr. Gone]

I consider myself a liberal, but I think having sex at work is quite a misconduct, independently how discreetly it is being done.

No worse than playing Minesweeper at work. Sex or Minesweeper during break is O.K. IMO.

[Mr. Gone]

Attention teachers: become Presidents of the U.S. before you screw at your workplace.

[andybleaden]

I thought that was what the equipment locker was for or was it the photocopier?

Bit daft getting caught ....even with a bit of paper over the window

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Putting a piece of paper over the window is a dead giveaway. If thay hadn't, probably no one would have noticed.

MG

[tooter]

what about the educational benefit?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

what about the educational benefit?

Depends on their techical expertise, about which we know nothing.

MG

[BruceH]

What the Hell??? Was the guy's name George Costanza?

[Guy Berger]

What the Hell??? Was the guy's name George Costanza?

"Was that wrong? Should I have not done that? I tell you I gotta plead ignorance on this thing because if anyone had said anything to me at all when I first started here that that sort of thing was frowned upon, you know, cause I've worked in a lot of offices and I tell you people do that all the time."

[Brownian Motion]

Maybe I am being too liberal here, but I think that everyone is over reacting by firing the two teachers involved in this story. After all, the door was locked and they had paper covering the windows (but obviously not well enough). Read on. My guess is that if that this happened in France, nothing would have happened. Big deal.

This behavior wouldn't be defended by any US school administration, public or private, and why should it be? Why should the school administration take the heat for retaining two teachers who showed such extraordinarily bad judgement?

[alocispepraluger102]

this is aloc's much more honorable school administration:

Article published Jun 11, 2006

Superintendent to repay district up to $6,000

The Issue:

Credit card purchases for alcohol

were made on a credit card belonging

to Mansfield City Schools.

Our Opinion:

Superintendent Scott Gordon can reimburse

the school district immediately, but it will take much longer to regain the public's trust.

Scott Gordon may eventually repay the Mansfield City Schools as much as $6,000 for liquor and other questionable purchases he made with the district's credit card.

Auditors, police and the prosecutor's office will determine if that's sufficient to square his financial obligations to taxpayers. But damage Gordon has done to the district's relationship with the public is something that will be much harder to ever quantify, repay and repair.

How do you put a price tag on a community's loss of trust in its school district leaders? How can you measure a loss of respect for those who run a school system? What will it take to repair the damage done to an educational system already in distress when Gordon took over in 2004?

Gordon, whose retirement becomes effective at the end of June, spoke through his attorney on Friday, promising to provide "full payment" for any questionable charges on the district credit card.

"Although Superintendent Gordon feels that he could dispute this amount, he would prefer putting the matter behind him and assisting the Mansfield City School District in doing the same. Superintendent Gordon emphasized that the district credit card was used to meet with business leaders and local governmental officials to further the business of the district and provide community outreach, a main part of the superintendent's job," his attorney said.

However, it's hard to tell exactly what the credit card was used for since Gordon never turned in receipts, according to Treasurer Bart Griffith, a violation of the district's credit card policy. Those violations were not made public until the News Journal made a public records request to see the receipts. Griffith, the district's financial leader, may soon have to answer why he paid credit card bills for which he had no receipts.

It's now clear Gordon purchased lots of vodka, rum, beer and wine in direct violation of the district's credit card policy. Gordon's attorney said Friday the outgoing superintendent was "never informed about any board policy on the use of the school credit card."

That's hard to believe since the district's policy on credit card usage was approved unanimously by the school board on Oct. 19, 2004, three months after Gordon took over. How could he not know of the policy? The assertion Gordon was "furthering the business of the district and providing community outreach" is likewise hard to swallow.

For example, how is education of children improved by his spending $90.54 on 14 vodka drinks between 4:43 and 6:51 p.m. on Friday, July 22, at Brant's Bistro, a short walk from the district's offices? How was community outreach improved when Gordon charged $54.84 on Monday, March 6, at 10:10 p.m. on 12 vodka drinks at Sweeney's Two on Lexington Avenue? How was the district's business furthered on Sept. 20, 2005, when Gordon charged $105.30 at 11:21 p.m. for 20 drinks at Sweeney's?

It's clear more questions need to be asked before the public allows Gordon to put "the matter behind him" as suggested by his attorney. The educational future of thousands of students depends on it.

[alocispepraluger102]

this is aloc's much more honorable school administration:

Article published Jun 11, 2006

Superintendent to repay district up to $6,000

The Issue:

Credit card purchases for alcohol

were made on a credit card belonging

to Mansfield City Schools.

Our Opinion:

Superintendent Scott Gordon can reimburse

the school district immediately, but it will take much longer to regain the public's trust.

Scott Gordon may eventually repay the Mansfield City Schools as much as $6,000 for liquor and other questionable purchases he made with the district's credit card.

Auditors, police and the prosecutor's office will determine if that's sufficient to square his financial obligations to taxpayers. But damage Gordon has done to the district's relationship with the public is something that will be much harder to ever quantify, repay and repair.

How do you put a price tag on a community's loss of trust in its school district leaders? How can you measure a loss of respect for those who run a school system? What will it take to repair the damage done to an educational system already in distress when Gordon took over in 2004?

Gordon, whose retirement becomes effective at the end of June, spoke through his attorney on Friday, promising to provide "full payment" for any questionable charges on the district credit card.

"Although Superintendent Gordon feels that he could dispute this amount, he would prefer putting the matter behind him and assisting the Mansfield City School District in doing the same. Superintendent Gordon emphasized that the district credit card was used to meet with business leaders and local governmental officials to further the business of the district and provide community outreach, a main part of the superintendent's job," his attorney said.

However, it's hard to tell exactly what the credit card was used for since Gordon never turned in receipts, according to Treasurer Bart Griffith, a violation of the district's credit card policy. Those violations were not made public until the News Journal made a public records request to see the receipts. Griffith, the district's financial leader, may soon have to answer why he paid credit card bills for which he had no receipts.

It's now clear Gordon purchased lots of vodka, rum, beer and wine in direct violation of the district's credit card policy. Gordon's attorney said Friday the outgoing superintendent was "never informed about any board policy on the use of the school credit card."

That's hard to believe since the district's policy on credit card usage was approved unanimously by the school board on Oct. 19, 2004, three months after Gordon took over. How could he not know of the policy? The assertion Gordon was "furthering the business of the district and providing community outreach" is likewise hard to swallow.

For example, how is education of children improved by his spending $90.54 on 14 vodka drinks between 4:43 and 6:51 p.m. on Friday, July 22, at Brant's Bistro, a short walk from the district's offices? How was community outreach improved when Gordon charged $54.84 on Monday, March 6, at 10:10 p.m. on 12 vodka drinks at Sweeney's Two on Lexington Avenue? How was the district's business furthered on Sept. 20, 2005, when Gordon charged $105.30 at 11:21 p.m. for 20 drinks at Sweeney's?

It's clear more questions need to be asked before the public allows Gordon to put "the matter behind him" as suggested by his attorney. The educational future of thousands of students depends on it.

oh yes, there are a few dozen motel visits on the card, too.

[catesta]

Maybe I am being too liberal here, but I think that everyone is over reacting by firing the two teachers involved in this story. After all, the door was locked and they had paper covering the windows (but obviously not well enough). Read on. My guess is that if that this happened in France, nothing would have happened. Big deal.

Teachers Quit After Students Witness Sex

By Associated Press

Thu Jun 8, 5:39 PM

TAMPA, Fla. - Two middle school teachers resigned after students saw them having sex in a classroom, the school district said.

Frances J. Sepulveda, 30, and Bryant J. Wilburn, 29, said they had sex in the classroom during school hours on "one or two occasions," according to an investigation by the Hillsborough County school district.

They resigned last month after two students at Coleman Middle School reported they saw the teachers having sex. The classroom door was locked and a window was covered with paper, but a boy and a girl told school officials they could see inside.

"These teachers showed appallingly bad judgment," school district spokesman Steve Hegarty said Wednesday. "We dealt with it quickly, and the teachers are no longer welcome in the Hillsborough County classroom."

State officials will determine if the teachers will be allowed to work in other schools.

Both teachers have unlisted phone numbers and could not be reached for comment Thursday. Wilburn told the St. Petersburg Times he was embarrassed by the incident.

Where does it say they were fired?

[alocispepraluger102]

Maybe I am being too liberal here, but I think that everyone is over reacting by firing the two teachers involved in this story. After all, the door was locked and they had paper covering the windows (but obviously not well enough). Read on. My guess is that if that this happened in France, nothing would have happened. Big deal.

Teachers Quit After Students Witness Sex

By Associated Press

Thu Jun 8, 5:39 PM

TAMPA, Fla. - Two middle school teachers resigned after students saw them having sex in a classroom, the school district said.

Frances J. Sepulveda, 30, and Bryant J. Wilburn, 29, said they had sex in the classroom during school hours on "one or two occasions," according to an investigation by the Hillsborough County school district.

They resigned last month after two students at Coleman Middle School reported they saw the teachers having sex. The classroom door was locked and a window was covered with paper, but a boy and a girl told school officials they could see inside.

"These teachers showed appallingly bad judgment," school district spokesman Steve Hegarty said Wednesday. "We dealt with it quickly, and the teachers are no longer welcome in the Hillsborough County classroom."

State officials will determine if the teachers will be allowed to work in other schools.

Both teachers have unlisted phone numbers and could not be reached for comment Thursday. Wilburn told the St. Petersburg Times he was embarrassed by the incident.

Where does it say they were fired?

how long will it be before we see them on the nightly news?

years of passion finally consummated, and to be punished. this is horrible. where's the aclu?

[catesta]

Okay never mind.

On the re-read I see where the school spokesman makes mention that they dealt with it quickly.