Secret files created by school district separation agreements could allow district employees forced out of a job for “performance issues” in one district to find work with a clean slate in a nearby district. Because of district confidentiality policies, there would be no way for a new employer to know about the new hires troubled past.
The separation agreements apply to some district employees who were allowed to resign instead of being fired. 9 Upstate districts have used the agreements in the last three years. 5 Upstate districts created secret employee files to hide bad reviews, parent complaints and disciplinary action from the regular personnel records.
The Greenville County School District provided 9 separation agreements in response to a Freedom of Information request. Even after the district provided copies of the contracts and the secret files they created, the names of the employees involved were obscured. Multiple attempts by 7 News attorneys failed to gain access to the identities.
One, included extensive documentation of a district investigation into sexual harassment accusations against a school employee. Two teachers filed formal complaints and several other employees were interviewed in the course of the investigation. Some employees said the unnamed employee made them feel unsafe.
The documents refer to dozens of specific remarks and the accusations span more than a decade.
In 2014, because of the district’s separation agreement, all of the documents disappeared from the employee’s personnel file. The employee is not eligible for rehire in Greenville County Schools. But the district also agreed to give a “neutral reference” if contacted by potential employers.
A new school district would have no access to the accusations or the records of the district’s investigation.
District director of communications Oby Lyles defended the use of secret agreements as a necessary tool in dealing with problem employees.
“First of all it’s important to note you still get to the same end result and that’s end of employment,” Lyles said.
“We’re not talking about high-level offenses. We’re talking about performance based issues. They’re not performing to the standards in the classroom,” Lyles said.
In 2014, an assistant principal at Walhalla High School made national news. People magazine, the Washington Times, even celebrity blogger Perez Hilton picked up the story of Charlie Fowler.
Fowler took a picture of a 6 year old girl at Wal Mart, posted it on Facebook, and wrote the caption “Honey Boo Boo at Wal Mart”.
When Fowler resigned 7 News reported it.
Still, the publicity didn’t stop the Oconee County School District from trying to keep Fowler’s story a secret.
In the separation agreement the district promised to keep any “concerns” about Fowler’s performance in a separate “sealed file”.
Like in Greenville County, the Oconee County district agreed to give any potential employers a “neutral reference” on Fowler and not mention the “Honey Boo Boo” caption.
In South Carolina, teachers are licensed by the State Board of Education. The really big offenses, like an arrest, would be reviewed by the full board.
If the board takes action on a teacher’s license, including a public reprimand, a suspension, or a revocation, the whole thing would eventually become a public record. Anything that falls short of board action, like the teacher who a secret file claims compared the pope to a mass murderer in a homework project, or a teacher who simply can’t handle the job of teaching students, could be hidden from public view by a legal agreement.
Lyles said the agreements allow the districts to get teachers out of the classroom while saving both time and money.
If a teacher is fired, instead of allowed to resign, they would have the right to appeal. That processs, Lyles said, could be expensive.
Lyles also said school districts should know that a “neutral reference” is a red flag. He said any recommendation from a former employer that will not go into specifics indicates potential trouble.
Here is the content of one teacher’s secret file:REDACTED Responses to Allegations – the responses are in bold type
While conversing with female EE#4 about jewelry, makes a reference about giving h.er a “pearl necklace” which she took as a sexual connotation. She is and was Aware of the sexual connotation related to a “pearl necklace” reference.I had never heard that the words pearl necklace had a sexual meaning. The comment was not intended by me to be sexual.
She and female were working on a display .. makes a comment regarding a set of toy handcuffs the display. He says, “Handcuffs, don’t know why anyone would get rid of them, they would be prized possessions at our house”.I might have remarked about the toy handcuffs being unusual on a school project but I did not say the remainder of what was claimed here.
“You have to get on your knees to work on my printer”I did make that comment but it was in the context of fixing my printer which is under my desk. The drop cord for the printer is across the room on the opposite wall. I have the cord running under a rug and under a sofa so one does not trip on it when walking through my office. I cannot pick up my printer and place it on my desk, In order to work on the printer and leave it plugged in; one must get on the floor or bend uncomfortably in the chair. I also said “I have to get on my hands and knees to work on my printer.” This comment was not Inappropriate in any way.
“I bet you do have boys working for you, lots of them”I made this comment in response to the employee talking about some work being done on her yard, and she said she had “some boys” working for her. Nothing inappropriate was intended.
“l would love to see you at the beach”I said this in response to a conversation about the beach. I had seen this employee and her family at the beach a year or two earlier when my daughter and Iwere leaving the beach (Isle of Palms) for the day. This employee waved for us to come down to the water with her family but we were finished with the beach for the day and did not join them. Her son is the same age as my daughter. The comment was meant as a polite response and there was nothing inappropriate about it.
“glad I got to see you…, it will come in handy …, both hands”I did say “both hands” but I remember it as a response to something about carrying textbooks that had been left in the media center. This, like many of the comments were taken out of context and repeated in isolation.
“Did you go to the beach …, one question, one piece or two” (2)I did say this
“Are you here alone today, is that velour you are wearing, 1 would love to feel that outfit”I did say “are you alone today” as I was wondering if the other REDACTED workers were not in the building. I did say …”.ooh velour, can I feel it” but I did not touch or make any move to touch the employee’s clothing. Nor did I intend by the comment to make her feel uncomfortable.
“Cutest purple pants l have ever seen”,I did not make this comment. The comment was made by another employee in my presence.
“Why are you not wearing your leather?”I did say this, in response to a Halloween outfit the employee had worn previously
“Handcuffs, don’t know why anyone would get rid of-them, they would be prized possessions at our house”See earlier “handcuffs” response
“You are the reason we can’t have jeans day”I did say this. The jeans the employee was wearing were in poor condition and did not satisfy the dress code for “Jeans Day”. We were expected to wear nice jeans on Jeans Day, not old and worn jeans
ln picture of her as a young child, REDACTED is lifting her and his hands are on her chest. REDACTED said to her, “look where REDACTED hands are, I wish I could touch where REDACTED touched”. She remembers saying back to him, “that is not going to happen”.The employee did show me the picture of REDACTED and her together. I was very excited about seeing the picture because I am a big Elvis fan. We talked about the picture and her memory of having it taken for several minutes. At least one other teacher was present during the conversation. Other than seeing the picture the rest of what is contained in this allegation was not said.
Example comments are “those jeans look nice”, or “very nice on your body”. Comments would be made while she passed his office and he would call her into office or when meeting inthe hallway. in general the comments were made when she wore jeans or pants. She would estimate there were 15 to 20 comments of this nature directed at her.
I did say to the employee “those jeans look nice” in response to her wondering if the jeans fit the Jeans Day dress code. (See earlier response about Jeans Day). She would often be in a group of two or three teachers in the hallway during the morning homeroom period and I would walk by on the way to my office. Often, one of the employees would say something like, “Look we are wearing our jeans, are they OK”, to which I would reply, “you look nice or you look fine or you are OK”. Our principal is very strict about the dress code and thei
teachers are very worried that she would say something to them about it, so they often asked me if their clothes were OK for the dress code.
During her second and third years at REDACTED would randomly ask her personal questions. Some examples are: “what dress size do you wear, is it a 2”, “you’re a trophy Wife”, “what did your husband get you for valentines” and “those shoes look like something Ms. Unnamed would wear”. Ms. Unnamed had a reputation for dressing provocatively. .Teachers would often be in the hallway talking about their day or sports or TV or what they were going to do after work. Our school has had several weight loss competitions as well. I did say “are you a 2” when a group of teachers were talking about needing to work out or lose weight. It was the same situation with the shoes. A group of teachers was remarking about her shoes, I did say “those look like something Ms. (anotheremployee) would wear.” I did ask her “what did ya’II do for Valentine’s Day” just as numerous people had asked me.
She recalls REDACTED commenting to Female EE# that “he could get her a pearl necklace”.
Her impression was that he didn’t want to let go of the comment. She recalled him adding, “Why wouldn’t you want to wear a pearl necklace?” Female indicated she is and was aware of the sexual connotation related to a “pearl necklace” reference.See above response concerning pearl necklace
She was present when REDACTED commented to Female that “you don’t help us on jeans day”. She took it that lair. REDACTED meant that Female EE#2 jeans are tight. Female said back to REDACTED “leave it alone, chill on that”.See above response concerning jean
In the first half of the first year, REDACTED called her classroom to ask the color of the REDACTED text book. It seemed odd to her since he was in charge of textbooks and would be able to identify without help. He went on to say to her, “I really enjoy your professional clothing you wear every day.”The teacher was teaching three sections of REDACTED her first year atREDACTED and the REDACTED book was a new adoption. I – did ask what color was the REDACTED grade REDACTED book since it was a new adoption and I was still learning the textbooks and workbooks for the new adoption. I did call her and thank her for her professional dress as this had been discussed in the administrative meetings the previous few days. Like the Jeans Day comments and other comments concerning the dress code, these statements were Job connected and not intended to be inappropriate. In addition, and like the other comments, no objections were made to me or to my principal at the time.
She collects 33 1/3 vinyl record albums and most everyone lrnew of this. After being at the school for about a month, REDACTED handed her a 45 single vinyl record. The single title was “Most Beautiful Girl in the World”. Later in the day, another female co worker saw the record and learned it was from REDACTED female co-worker then proceeded to caution her about his reputation and to be careful to always be professional around him.
The teacher and I had been talking about summer concerts and what bands we had seen over the summer. She stated that she collected vinyl records. I told her I was going to bring her some vinyl from my mother’s house the next time I visited my mother. A few weeks later I went to visit my mother and quickly picked up two 45 rpm records, one of the records was by Charlie Rich, who was a Hall of Fame performer and “Most Beautiful Girl in the World” was a big hit for him. I do not think this was inappropriate and giving her this record was certainly not intended to be inappropriate. No objection was made to me or to my principal about this “incident” at the time, as with the other instances.
She had been working out and had on exercise clothes. REDACTED commented “so been working out, looking good”. She recalls him saying to her, “your legs are looking good (or nice)”. She felt with that last comment he had gone too far.Some teachers were talking after school one day when I walked up on them at the end of the day. They were going running (and had been talking about running and losing weight for several weeks). Another employee and I both commented on how they had been working out and the results of the workouts. She was talking about running a 1/2 marathon, we both said she looked like she would be able to make it all the way to the end,
During last school year, her and numerous other teachers had met at a bar/restaurant called A House Divided. REDACTED would be there from time to time. She remembers sitting at a table with about five other female teachersREDACTED was standing at the table when one of the ladies ordered a drink called sex on the beach. With that, REDACTED asked In general to the ladies at the table, “have any of you had sex on the beach”. She doesn’t recall anyone responding. He then looks at her and ask, “Have you had sex-on the beach”.
She responded, “No I don’t share that kind of information”. She remembersREDACTED directly asking at least two other females at the table the same question. She thinks they ‘responded with “I don’t share that kind of information.”I did meet several teachers there two or three times. Each time I was invited to come. Another person in the group made the first comment about ‘have you had sex on the beach”, she asked me, and I asked the next person and so on. Again, no objection was made at the time to me or to the principal.
.Just a couple of week ago, he commented to her about her attire. He typically goes overboard with what is customarily said. She sensed that this was another occasion he is checking her over.Again, this teacher has been working for a couple of years on losing weight and running. She and her friend (a REDACTED grade teacher) talked about it all of the time. She came in the cafeteria for lunch. She passed me and I did say “you look nice today”
Her concerns with REDACTED began in school year 2010-11 and continued into 2011-12. He repeatedly would ask her personal questions. She remembers questions like “what did you do with your hair, it looks different” and about her looks and figure. Her response to these questions was the repeated use of the word “nothing”.This teacher was having trouble adjusting at REDACTED She rarely smiled or talked to anyone. Parents and students both had complained about her teaching. Another employee and I talked to the principal about this and decided It might help this teacher if we made an effort to speak to her more so she would have a better feeling about the staff. Another employee would often tell the teacher who was having trouble to “come on now, smile” while I would ask her about being from REDACTED (where she was from} and what she was going to do over Christmas break or if she had a big weekend planned. I did ask her “Where do the young people go out and dance in Greenville, back in the day we used to go out to dance.” We both made it a point to say “Hello” each time we saw her. Once, she had a new haircut and I did say “Your hair looks different”. I never made any comments about her figure. The comments I did make were intended to make this teacher who was having adjustment difficulties feel more part of the school and connected to the staff. This was also an approach the principal knew about in advance and supported.
She recalls him giving her a music CD which she felt was odd since he doesn’t know the type music she likes.I had a new Sarah Mclaughlin CD that I brought to school to let people copy. I saw her coming out of the media center and asked her if she liked the artist, she said yes, so I gave her the CD to borrow to listen to. She gave it back in a couple of weeks and·1 then passed it on to a couple of other staff members who also passed it on to others. Several of us often traded CDs to rip onto i-tunes
He would be on the REDACTED hall interacting with her when his job is in theREDACTED hall.
He would inquire whether she needed anything and he would get supplies for her. She initially looked at it as helpful but later she learned that she was the only one getting this attention on the REDACTEDI was taking some workbooks and textbooks to the bookroom on theREDACTED._.hallway and stopped in her room to see how things were going (I did this often with teachers who were new to our school or who I knew were struggling). She stated that she had a sink that was stopped up and that she had asked the custodian numerous times to fix it but it was still stopped up. I asked the plant engineer to repair it and he did. I asked her if she needed anything else to just let me or any of the administrators know and we would try to get it for her. Idid this with teachers throughout the school.
ln the second half of the 2011-12 school years she asked REDACTED for help and the behavior stopped.As mentioned above, the principal was fully aware that another employee and I were talking to this teacher, trying to get her more involved with the staff and to feel more comfortable at the school. The principal had a five minute conversation with me about a complaint made by this employee. The principal said the complaint was nothing sexual, that she did not know what the employee wanted but that from now on I should just say “hi” and “goodbye” to her which is what I did. I had not said or done anything inappropriate.
She was the last one in his office to pick up paperwork. While handing the paper to her he asked, “would you take a $1000′?” She ‘remembers him somewhat posing in front of her and looking over himself to suggest the nature of his comment. She recalls saying back to him, “that is nasty and you don’t have enough money in the world”. She recalls him laughing while this exchange is occurring.This alleged exchange did not happen.
While in the hallway, REDACTED calls her over and ask, “Do you want to see my kids Halloween costumes?” He hands her his mobile phone and it is a picture ofREDACTED in his underwear. She recalls that it showed his torso from about mid chest to mid-thigh. The underwear was medium size and dark. The angle indicated a self-portrait with him standing to one side and he had an erection. She handed the mobile phone back and responded that he is “nasty” and “if you ever do anything like that again I will never talk to you”. She recalls him laughing while this exchange is occurring. He said, “Oh, that isn’t tile picture l meant for you to see, that was for my wife”. He then switched to a different photo and this photo was a picture of his children in Halloween costumes.This incident did not happen. In the fall of 2005 when the employee says this happened I did not have a mobile phone. I was out on medical leave from December, 2005 until August of 2006. I began using a mobile phone in June 16, 2006 on the advice of my doctor (in case of an emergency) I have proof of this from Sprint (confirmation letter to be sent as of March 7) The cell phone registered to my wife at that time did not take photos. Like most of these allegations timely complaints were not made to me or the principal, I was not given the comp_laints in writing before action was taken against me and I was not asked my side of the story until after everything had already been decided against me.
She remembers REDACTED interjecting about giving Female EE#l some jewelry. She doesn’t recall the exact words but remembers thinking, what does he know about jewelry.I did not give jewelry to an employee.
In a recent conversation, REDACTED commented to her truit Female #3 had showed him her new ankle tattoo. He expressed surprise that she had showed it to him because he had gotten in trouble with her a few years back. Something about a picture of Elvis. REDACTED went on to say to her that he really didn’t Want to seeREDACTED tattoo, but he understands that Female has a tattoo on her backside. He says to her that he “definitely would like to see that tattoo”.I did not say to the SRO that “I had gotten in trouble with (an employee) a few years back”. With respect to the tattoos, the administrators and SRO eat lunch together everyday for one hour. We discussed everything from football to politics to tattoos. The group was discussing who had a tattoo; everyone was naming teachers whom they knew had a tattoo. We all had heard that this particular employee had a large tattoo on her back. We all had talked about it. I did not say I wanted to see a tattoo on her backside.
He would go with Female for printer repair so that she would not have to be alone with REDACTED in his office. Upon arriving at the office, He assesses the printer fix as a simple matter of a dislodged roller. It took only a moment to correct.
I have had numerous problems with my printer. I had tried several times to make the roller stay in place but could not. I was under a deadline to print a portion of the portfolio for the principal to review. I asked for help with the printer and was surprised as well when (a male employee) was able to fix the roller so quickly. The suggestion is that I sabotaged my printer in order to have someone come down to my office under the guise of looking at my printer. I did not do that.
He has heard comments from REDACTED about physical attributes. of female teachers but he viewed REDACTED comments as going beyond the normal context of guy talk and particularly of talk from an administrator to a teacher. He commented that REDACTED doesn’t ‘guard his eyes or tongue in a reasonable manner.REDACTED gives off a very sexual vibe.I did play along with the male employee in his comments about female teachers and what they wore. The male employee had been asked by the principal to go home and change his clothes so he was often commenting about other teachers and how they were violating the dress code and why. This male employee had been I through a very bad divorce and was now dating. He would often talk of his conquests and his weekend drinking. I did listen to him when he would talk about I the women he had seen and been with.
Female EE#2 asked him to respond to the request to fix printer in REDACTED office. He found that the printer fix was a simple matter of the paper tray being a little off !line._ Only took a moment to correct and he wondered why REDACTED would need help with that. He also noted that the printer was in an unusual location.See above about printer location. Again, I had many problems with my printer and when I could not fix them myself I would ask for help. I never created a problem with my printer so someone would come down to fix it.REDACTED Responses to REDACTED Allegations – the responses are in bold type
She specifically mentioned an occasion when he began by starting at her feet worked his way all the way up and then worked his way down again. She said he then said, “That was rude of me. I just looked you from head to toe and back again. You do look good today.”I did say this. She had returned from the district teacher of the year event and I was surprised that she would wear an outfit that would not be allowed at work.
She stated that he knew she was recently married and this, she feels this led to another incident According to her, he is alleged to have said to her,. “I do what I’m supposed to at home so I can get the good stuff.” She stated she did not understand what he was saying and apparently she looked puzzled because he then added, “You women have something that is really powerful’.” At that point she realized what he was saying and told him she didn’t operate in that way or something to that effect. He then stated according to the lady, “I’ll give you a year.”I did not say these things
A third involved REDACTED telling the teacher that his wife wore either specific color underwear or no underwear on their wedding day. (I did not specifically under stand what she said, but I heard enough to get the gist’ of the statement and I didn’t want to push because the teacher seemed uncomfortable discussing the issue.) She stated he also told her that bis second child was conceived when he and his wife were both drunk on Tequila. She stated all of this was information she did not want to know.There was a good bit of talk from the staff about drinking alcohol. Many of the staff members would openly talk about going to happy hour or their drinking on the weekend. I did say that “We had been drinking tequila” the few weekends before my wife became pregnant. I did not have any conversation with anyone about what underwear was worn on my wedding day. There was some conversation one day in my office between two or three teachers about a lingerie shower and gag gifts, but I did not participate and asked the teachers to move the conversation somewhere else.
A second teacher told of an experience during her spring conference withREDACTED She stated that. REDACTED said that he told his wife that he was having a conference with the teacher in question. He stated that his wife asked, “Is that the tall, thin, beautiful girl?” She then said that he told her that he and is wife discussed how beautiful she (the teacher) was for several minutes. He then added,” And you are beautiful.”I did not have a conversation with a teacher about anyone being tall, thin and beautiful.
A second incident occurred involving this same teacher in another conference. She stated that REDACTED was in this conference. REDACTED, according to the teacher asked her if she straightened her hair and she answered in the affirmative. He then said, “I am going to tell something that is inappropriate but it is not that inappropriate. At that point REDACTED said something to the effect of “I think we should think before we tell any inappropriate stories”. The teacher stated thatREDACTED continued, I’ll tell it anyway.” At that point he told about his brother dating who also straightened her hair. She then stated that he informed her along with REDACTED that his brother’s girlfriend had curly hair when she got out of the shower. The final incident involved a chance encounter with REDACTED. He asked her if she dressed as she was at the time while she was in college. She said he asked, “You don’t wear skirts, do you?” She also stated that there were random looks from time to time and concluded by saying, “Nobody wants to be alone with him. You don’t know if he is going to pound on you or say something inappropriate”.I did tell the story of my brother who had brought his girlfriend home from college, who at the Sunday dinner table and told my mother (with his girlfriend present), that “her hair is only curly when she gets out of the shower.” It had since become a family joke. I did say to the teacher “you don’t wear skirts, do you?” This teacher was a REDACTED grade teacher who often was on the floor with her students reading. She also was involved in many outdoor science activities.
The third incident involved a teacher, also during a conference regarding teaching performance. According to her this was a regular conference for the purpose of discussing her progress so far as a new teacher. She was deliberate in informing me that he had never been to her room never observed her teach never indicated there was any problem at all with her instuctional methods or the results she was obtaining using those methods. She said that he began by giving her only negative feedback. After several minutes of this, she asked him if there was something positive about her as a teacher something he liked. She said that he said, “I like the way you dress.” At that point she said he verbally attacked her. He told her that her class was six months behind. She added that at that time, school had been in session less than six months.I observed every teacher at REDACTED School and gave him or her written feedback. We were under corrective action by the State Department of Education and were required to do so. We had an instructional improvement plan that was praised by the superintendent and it included observations and feedback. I did say her class was behind 6 months; their test scores and assessments showed that the entire class was behind grade level at the beginning of the year, not due to the teacher. I did complement the teacher on her professional dress. The teacher later left the profession -due to failing ADEPT two times.
This same teacher then recounted another incident in which she was walking across a courtyard area on the school campus. She said she was not wearing anything that was out of the ordinary or unprofessional. She stated that he approached her, looked her up and down and asked, “Did you dress like that for me today?” This, according to her, was said in front of her kids. She said that she reluctantly confided in some of her fellow workers about’ these incidents and they informed her that it had happened before.I do not remember anything about this allegation.
The final incident involving this person occurred at her REDACTED conference when she showed him her diamond (she had just become engaged). She said he reached out and grabbed her hand and began to rub it with the other and said, “Let me hold your hand one more time (or one last time she couldn’t remember exactly) before you get married. She added that he never asked how her class was going or if she needed anything in her class. His conversations centered on ‘her relationships (did she have a boyfriend or was she getting married) or her clothes. If it wasn’t that she said he was attacking her. Her last comment was, “I avoid him at all costs.”I really don’t remember this event. I do remember making small talk with her about her fiancee and what he did for a living. They once made a CD for me for a party and it had an unusual design on it. I did ask her about his work and if he did that type of thing at work.
One other teacher said there was a time last year when “we would go into his office only in pairs.” She said that he even asked on one occasion why people only came into his in pairs. This particular person was talking about the verbal attacks and the condescension. She then added, “but I am aware of some rumors of inappropriate comments, but I have never experienced any myself’.I did ask this teacher why she always came in my office with somebody else. She responded that she was really shy about asking for instructional supplies and needing to leave early. Many teachers came into my office alone to ask me questions, bring a student or share something great that had happened with a student.I also want to point out that the REDACTED report was not shown to me in 2003 when the alleged comments were made. None of the people who claimed I made comments that upset them told me that at any time. The person who investigated the comments also did not tell me verbally what the complaints were against me and ask me my side of the story. It was not until 2014 as the district was preparing to fire me that I learned the details of the allegations from 2003.