The State calls on the discipline for 5 CUSD teachers – Gilbertsunnews.com

The panel recommends to the State Council of Arizona Education Five current and former employees of the Chandler school district of their actions – and inaction – related to a teacher who supposedly touches students in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable.

The Advisory Committee on Professional Practices of the State Council of Education (PPAC) made the recommendations at the end of a four -day hearing on January 31.

He recommended that three of the five employees have their certificates stopped for three years and to be required to complete an awareness course on behavior of behavior within one year.

In addition, the current head of the CUSD Human Resources Division, D Jeff Filun, must also complete a course on mandatory reporting requirements under state law next year.

The other two, whose certificates have been recommended for suspension, are former Casteel High School Director Jason Phillips (currently director at Santan Junior High) and former Casteel assistant Radian Raider, who is no longer an employee of the district.

The panel also recommended the current associate Dr. Craig Gilbert to receive a no-confidence letter and this Casteel Shelamae Woodworth assistant director faces an annual suspension of her certificate. Both would also have a year to complete a haircut awareness course.

Gilbert announced at the CUSD Management Board meeting in December that he plans to retire at the end of this school year.

“We want to repeat the safety and well -being of every student and we will always be, at the heart of everything we do in CUSD,” Stephanie Ingersol wrote in an email. She is the CEO of the marketing and communications area.

“Chandler Unified School District confirms its commitment to train each of its students in a safe, positive and caring environment. We will continue to regularly review and evaluate our practices and procedures on all issues. “

She said that at this point the area would not comment on PPAC’s recommendations because the process was not played. The next step will be the decision of the Education Council. Individual respondents have the ability to appeal.

The case focuses on events that took place in February and March 2021. Five high school students made statements to justify that their Technical Theater teacher Patrick Power touches them in ways that made them make them They feel uncomfortable.

The touch included shoulders, back, hand holding, touching the legs and a hug. It did not include any touch of breasts, ass or genitals.

After receiving these statements, Phillips, the principal, asked Woodworth to talk to several students. He said he wanted to make sure he was gone and he thought it would be easier for 12-year-old girls to open up for a woman.

Then Ridenour, Phillips, Woodworth and School Officer Richard Lins met Fillloon to decide what to do about complaints.

It is reported that the lines told them that there was nothing criminal in the complaints and therefore nothing that the sheriff of the Maricopa County could pursue.

The power was in his first year of teaching at CUSD. He was appointed to teach a course that required an experience that was not many teachers. He had over three decades of experience in California and had no serious problems that they were aware of there.

There were no previous complaints in CUSD.

In fact, the authorities began a few weeks after the start of the hours, because the area had problems finding someone who has experience to teach this course.

The group decided by a letter or direction, notifying the force that there were complaints, giving him to understand that his work could be terminated and that he should correct his behavior.

“Students who feel uncomfortable is enough for me to make sure I will contact HR and make sure we will bring together a team together,” Phillips said in his testimony. “It is clear that there were some borderline things that we had to turn to so that he did not make students feel uncomfortable.”

Just over a month after these reports from high school students, there was another report of two bigger girls who were adolescents. They complained, saying Power offered to take them to a gun show over the weekend.

In addition, a person said that power would often stop at her place of work, Taco Bell, and even comments on her when he would stop and find that he was not working.

Following these statements, Filun told Phillips to contact power and instruct him not to return to the campus and instead go to the county office to meet directly with Fillloon.

At this meeting, Filun informed the power of the new complaints and said he would start an investigation and he should not return to school until it is completed.

According to Fillloon, Power said there was no need for it and would retire immediately.

Only the Management Board can accept the teacher’s retirement.

Filun set the recommendation without notifying the Board of Directors or the State Education Council of the complaints against the authorities.

The parents of one of the students in high school who made the initial complaint began to push the area, telling the employees that their daughter was fighting.

They said that her grades were beginning to slip and that she was harassed by classmates who were upset by the loss of her teacher. Her mother testified during the hearing that her daughter had even thought of suicide.

The parents asked the area some support for mental health. They were also not happy with the investigation of power.

They were told that they were initially told that the law enforcement agencies were investigating, which was not the case.

This summer, parents filed a complaint to the sheriff of Maricopa County. This investigation has led to an aggravated charge of attack, but the District Prosecutor’s Office decided not to pursue, as he did not believe he could be sentenced.

By the time when CUSD employees suggested that they arrange a meeting with professions for mental health, the parents had already found a therapist themselves.

The parents filed a complaint of Title IX, which refers to the federal law, which focuses on gender discrimination in education.

Phillips said he had refused the request, since at that moment the authorities were no longer an employee, so they had no way of forcing the already retired teacher to cooperate with an investigation or discipline him.

Gilbert, the associated chief, is only involved in the fact that he is involved in the appeal of the Phillips Pitle IX decision. He also denied it in substance for the same reasons.

The service of Maricopa County Sheriff has asked to talk to some of the directors about his investigation.

Filun told investigators to talk to the lawyers of the district. According to the leading lawyer, William Richards, these officers were unsuccessful interviewers of CUSD.

The lawyers of the employees in the school area have built their case around the argument that this is a borderline issue of power and that they are limited in what they can say to parents or others because of the confidentiality of the employees.

Phillips and Filun testified that, on the basis of their experience, a letter to an employee has corrected behavior most of the time. Since the authorities had no previous concerns, in this case the letter was appropriate.

They also objected to the consolidation of all five cases in one.

The lawyers also stated that the parents had filed a lawsuit against the district and suggested that this case could be motivated by financial concerns.

The state claims that all five employees who collectively have 150 years of experience in education should do more.

It says they should monitor Power’s behavior after giving him the direction of direction. And the state authorities have stated that they must notify the CUSD Management Board and the State Council of Complaints Education to ensure that power cannot go to another area and eventually repeat the behavior.

The state also tried to claim that CUSD was concerned about extracting more bad news from the press, as it faced reducing enrollment, increased competition for students and had a gender -related case.

The last argument was a reference to the case of the high hate Hamilton, who broke eight years ago.

The members of the panel seemed to reject the idea that the reduction in the recording or the laws of the parents had something to do with the case.

They seemed quite disturbed by the answers from the five employees to the question if they considered whether the authorities were trying to raise the girls.

At one point, one of the officials rejected this proposal, noting what the power is doing is in the middle of the classroom full of other students.

This argument is one of the reasons the panel insists on all five to complete a trimming course.

The State Council of Education then meets at 9am, February 24th. The program for this meeting has not been published.

“Just give him a letter, he’ll be fine,” Richards said in his final dispute. “We do not need follow -up, we do not need a plan of conformity, we do not need mentoring, monitoring or training. We don’t need any of that. “