LOVEJOY ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL OUSTED

He's Accused Of Letting Students Smoke Pot And Drink At His House

The Georgia assistant principal of the year for 2005 has been ousted
from his position in Clayton County after being accused of failing
to act while students consumed alcohol and used marijuana in his
home at the end of 2005, according to documents obtained from the district.

The Clayton County Board of Education last week suspended Lovejoy
High School Assistant Principal Christopher Johnson without pay
through June 30, the last day of his contract as well as the
school's fiscal year. Gary Sams, an attorney for the district,
said Johnson's contract for the next school year will not be renewed.

Superintendent Barbara Pulliam had recommended that Johnson's
contract with the board not be renewed and a hearing tribunal upheld
her recommendation. She notified him in a March 22 letter that he
would be suspended and his contract not renewed pending the tribunal hearing.

Johnson, who was named the Affiliated Georgia School Leaders
Assistant Principal of the Year last year, denies all allegations
and findings from the hearing tribunal, according to his attorney,
Deirdre Stephens-Johnson, who spoke on his behalf.

Stephens-Johnson said she thought the evidence did not support the
tribunal's findings.

Evidence presented was contradictory and many initial statements
were recanted by witnesses, Stephens-Johnson said.

"I was surprised by the outcome as the hearing progressed," she said.

Stephens-Johnson said that her client has not chosen whether to
appeal the decision.

Johnson currently is looking for employment and would prefer to work
with young people and continue his career in education, Stephens-Johnson said.

The three-member hearing tribunal, consisting of board-appointed
members, heard the case on April 11 and 12. It convened to consider
charges, findings of fact and issue a recommendation. The tribunal
concluded that Johnson violated standards of ethics educators are
required to adhere to.

The hearing tribunal found that Johnson consumed alcoholic beverages
in the presence of students, failed to maintain a professional
relationship with students at all times and was aware that a student
used marijuana in his home and failed to report the incident in a
timely manner.

School officials also alleged Johnson submitted a letter containing
"incorrect" facts used by Henry County courts, Sams said.

Documents from the school system allege that Johnson wrote a letter
on school system stationary that contained "misleading information"
about the intent of a social gathering on Dec. 20, 2005.

A student was pulled over in Henry County after the gathering for
traffic and curfew violations, Pulliam said in her letter to
Johnson. The student is 17 years old.

Johnson called the gathering at his home a "field trip" and
submitted a letter to Henry County judicial authorities to get the
student out of trouble, according to system documents. Pulliam said
Johnson misled Henry County authorities about "why the student was
operating a vehicle after midnight" in violation of a limited permit.

The student was summoned to appear in Henry County State Court on
March 2 and the curfew violation was dismissed based on the letter
submitted by Johnson.

Pulliam also alleged that Johnson let the same student "ingest
marijuana in his home and failed to make a report of the incident to
any official or the student's parents at the time of the incident,"
according to system documents.

Henry County Solicitor General Charles Spahos said the letter was
mistakenly returned to the student and is no longer in the case
file. He said he is waiting for a transcript from the Clayton County
hearing to determine whether a crime took place.

"We're continuing to investigate," said Spahos. "I'm going to look
at every bit of it."

Charles White, a spokesman for Clayton County Public Schools, said
in a statement that school officials had not reported any of the
alleged incidents to law enforcement officials.

"Under the advice of council, no report was made to law enforcement
officials regarding alleged student activity," he said in the statement.

Parents of Lovejoy High students said they supported Johnson and
questioned the tribunal hearing's decision.

"From what I heard and what I saw for the tribunal hearing for Mr.
Johnson, there was no concrete proof that any of those violations
occurred," said Sandra McPhail, president of the parent teacher
student association from Lovejoy High School who attended the hearing.

Ganus Anderson, whose two sons attend Lovejoy High and have worked
with Johnson as part of a student group, said that he supports him
and questioned the tribunal.

Johnson had a "perfect" record and parents were unaware of any
wrongdoing, he said.

"I think he was the people's choice," said Anderson, who added that
he and other parents had hoped Johnson would've been named principal
of Lovejoy High.

Mr. Johnson received degrees from South Carolina State University,
North Carolina State University, Jacksonville State University and
Georgia Southern University. He has just completed his Doctor of
Education Administration from Georgia Southern University.

He started his professional education career as a bus driver as well
as a middle school mathematics teacher. He has served as an
assistant principal in Douglas County and Clayton County. His
current assignment was the Lovejoy High School Freshman Academy. One
teacher at the school said he believes Johnson has held
that position for two years.

Dr. Samuel Jackson, then interim Principal of Lovejoy, gave the
credit to Mr. Johnson for "his initiatives and collaboration with
freshmen teachers, guidance counselors, PTSA members, parents, and
other members in the community, the Freshmen Academy at Lovejoy is
serving as a model for other schools in the county," according to
the Affiliated Georgia School Leaders website.

The board took away the interim status and named Jackson the
school's principal earlier this month.

Officials said they plan to fill the position but are not sure when
a replacement will be named.