Associated Press
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Retiring state Schools Superintendent Joe Morton defended his record Tuesday of recommending that teachers lose their certificates for various types of misconduct.
In a recent issue of the Alabama Education Association's Alabama School Journal, AEA Associate Executive Secretary Joe Reed said Morton has been "openly hostile" to public educators and that Morton proposed that more teachers have their certificates revoked than past superintendents.
In the article, Reed said of Morton, "If I were to say anything good about his tenure, it would simply be 'goodbye'."
Morton told the state school board at Tuesday's meeting that Reed's assertions are "incorrect and wrong-minded."
Morton said he takes the revocation of certificates very seriously and that most revocations he recommended involved teachers using illegal drugs, having inappropriate sexual contact with students or committing crimes.
"If I don't take it seriously, students could be tarnished for decades," Morton said.
Morton's office released a list of descriptions of misconduct in the last 25 teacher revocations he recommended, including one case where a teacher had sex with a student and another where a teacher planned a private camping trip with a student.
Reed later said he agrees teachers should be dismissed if involved "in that kind of behavior." But he said Morton overstepped his authority in some cases by recommending teachers lose their licenses even though the local school board had ruled on their side.
Board vice president Randy McKinney of Orange Beach told Richardson at Tuesday's meeting that he was pleased with the way the superintendent had handled the revocation of teaching certificates. Board member Betty Peters of Dothan said she strongly commended Morton for how he had handled the revocations.
In a recent issue of the Alabama Education Association's Alabama School Journal, AEA Associate Executive Secretary Joe Reed said Morton has been "openly hostile" to public educators and that Morton proposed that more teachers have their certificates revoked than past superintendents.
In the article, Reed said of Morton, "If I were to say anything good about his tenure, it would simply be 'goodbye'."
Morton told the state school board at Tuesday's meeting that Reed's assertions are "incorrect and wrong-minded."
Morton said he takes the revocation of certificates very seriously and that most revocations he recommended involved teachers using illegal drugs, having inappropriate sexual contact with students or committing crimes.
"If I don't take it seriously, students could be tarnished for decades," Morton said.
Morton's office released a list of descriptions of misconduct in the last 25 teacher revocations he recommended, including one case where a teacher had sex with a student and another where a teacher planned a private camping trip with a student.
Reed later said he agrees teachers should be dismissed if involved "in that kind of behavior." But he said Morton overstepped his authority in some cases by recommending teachers lose their licenses even though the local school board had ruled on their side.
Board vice president Randy McKinney of Orange Beach told Richardson at Tuesday's meeting that he was pleased with the way the superintendent had handled the revocation of teaching certificates. Board member Betty Peters of Dothan said she strongly commended Morton for how he had handled the revocations.
No comments:
Post a Comment