Manatee Board Suspends Teacher

By Joe Saunders, The Bradenton Herald, Fla.

Sep. 19–BRADENTON — A former Johnson Middle School teacher was suspended for 10 days without pay — but held onto her job with the school district — after the school board Tuesday rejected a recommendation from Superintendent Roger Dearing that she be fired for failing to answer questions about a series of allegations she made against fellow teachers and her former principal.

In a February letter to the Department of Children and Families and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, special education teacher Pathaline Daniels accused a female teacher of having an unusually close relationship with a male student, another of having a substance abuse problem and Johnson Principal Ann McDonald of covering up the issues.

A school district investigation ultimately found the allegations were unfounded.

However, when the school district sought to question Daniels about the accusations in a May meeting, she declined to participate because the district would not allow her private attorney — Christopher Leifer — to be present. And though Daniels, a seven-year school district employee, belongs to the Manatee Education Association, the union would not represent her because it has a policy against providing union representation to members who hire private attorneys.

During Tuesday’s four-hour hearing on the case, Daniels’ lack of counsel troubled some board members.

“I think about, ‘What would I do?’ ” board member Barbara Harvey said, after both sides had presented their cases. “Would I have gone in there without somebody? The answer’s ‘No.’ “

The board’s decision followed repeated warnings from school board attorney John Bowen that failing to fire Daniels would set a precedent that could allow the MEA to stall future investigations simply by failing to show up when a member is being questioned, but the board decided the situation was unique.

Even district veterans like Bowen and Harvey couldn’t remember another case where a teacher had sought union representation and it had been denied.

After the hearing, Daniels, who has been suspended without pay since school started Aug. 13 and has not yet been given a school assignment, was clearly relieved.

“I came here expecting to be fired,” she said. “It’s a good start for teachers who’ve had their rights violated.”

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