DRUG-USE TEACHER FAILED SCHOOL, STUDENTS, BUT HAS RIGHT TO
RETURN

Michael Provost is a hypocrite. The Parrott Middle School health
teacher, who used to teach drug prevention and headed a student
anti-drug club, is suspended after acknowledging recreational
marijuana use off campus.

But hypocrisy is not a firing offense, and the Hernando School Board
shouldn't follow a recommendation from the school board attorney and
interim superintendent to dismiss Provost. More appropriately, it
should consider the nonbinding ruling of an impartial administrative
law judge who said the district didn't have the legal authority to
fire Provost because it is a de facto state agency and must follow
appropriate state law.

Florida's Drug Free Workplace Act, which excludes police officers and
firefighters, prohibits state employers from terminating workers upon
an initial positive drug test unless the employee forgoes an
opportunity to participate in a substance-abuse program. In this
instance, Provost agreed to a drug test and entered an employee
assistance program after being confronted in March by principal
Leechelle Booker about suspected marijuana use.

He has been on unpaid suspension since and appealed to the
administrative judge after former superintendent Wayne Alexander
recommended his firing. Despite the ruling from Administrative Judge
P. Michael Ruff, School Board attorney Paul Carland and interim
superintendent Sonya Jackson still recommend termination.

Carland contends the school district is exempt from the drug-free law
because it is not a state agency. Granted, there are conflicting
rulings on district autonomy, but it shouldn't be a matter of
convenience to pick and choose when to follow state laws.

Among other things, the school district's funding, tax rate,
curriculum requirements, standardized testing rules and school grades
are established in Tallahassee by legislators and the Department of
Education. The state mandates which day to teach the Constitution,
how much weekly recess time students must have and even the size of
the American flag to be displayed in every classroom. Nearly
everything about the public school system in Florida is driven from
the top down with local districts given the chores of implementing
the state requirements while negotiating teacher salaries, building
schools and balancing their annual budgets. To suggest an individual
school district is anything but an agency of the state government is
unreasonable.

Evan absent that argument, the Hernando School Board should consider
the message it would be sending to all its employees if it fires a
teacher who volunteered information about his marijuana use, agreed
to a drug test and sought help via the employee assistance program.
It's akin to telling others to hide their problems instead of seeking
help because the consequences are unforgiving.

There is no doubt Provost has damaged his credibility, but the
district should give him an opportunity to return to teach. His
initial lesson plan should include sharing first-person accounts with
middle school students about the aftermath of his own reckless
personal choices.