08-24-2008, 10:19 AM
ZEPHYRHILLS - New hires with the Pasco County School District are typically lumped together in the same agenda item and approved by the school board with little or no discussion.
Thanks to publicity about his recent resignation from the Zephyrhills Police Department, Robert Perrault, hired to teach criminal justice classes at Zephyrhills High School, is a different case.
When Perrault resigned Aug. 8, he and former police Chief Russell Barnes were the subjects in an investigation of payroll discrepancies within the department.
Schools Superintendent Heather Fiorentino said Friday that Perrault's job will be discussed at Tuesday's school board meeting.
"I'm pulling this for discussion because I want everyone to be comfortable," she said.
Fiorentino said she would recommend that the school board approve Perrault's hiring if it can be shown the police department's investigation would have resulted in punishment no more severe than a written reprimand.
Barnes resigned Tuesday, after City Manager Steve Spina recommended that the city council fire him. A three-week investigation concluded that Barnes falsified payroll records for Perrault, the department's former spokesman and head of internal affairs, who taught classes at Pasco-Hernando Community College. Perrault and Barnes deny wrongdoing.
"I will read the police department's findings very carefully this weekend," Fiorentino said. "We also hope to get something in writing from the city manager that he Perrault would only have gotten a letter of reprimand. That will have a big play in this recommendation."
Perrault and Barnes were placed on paid leave by the city July 29. Perrault had applied for the job at Zephyrhills High 12 days prior.
Renee Sedlack, the school district's director of human resources, said she and two administrators from Zephyrhills High spoke with Spina after reading about the investigation of Perrault, who had already been offered a job at the school.
"We all got the same impression: that the investigation, in the end, would not result in anything major" regarding Perrault, she said.
Friday, Spina said that when he was approached by school officials he could not convey the nature of the investigation because it had not been concluded.
"I never said anything about discipline," he said. "That would be up to the police department."
Capt. David Shears, acting police chief, did not return calls seeking comment Friday.
Perrault was accused of "double dipping" - claiming to have been working for the city when he was teaching at PHCC and getting paid by the college.
According to the city's investigation, Barnes had created a log documenting so-called "flex time" that Perrault used to justify claiming the hours on the clock for both the city and the college. The city has no such policy on its books. City records said Perrault was paid more than $2,000 for hours he did not work, mostly in 2006 and 2007.
"I told them that in my personal opinion I didn't know if the charge was true or not, and that I wouldn't judge one person on one thing," Spina said. "I know of Perrault's abilities with students and the reputation he had when he worked with schools as a resource officer, and that it was a strong reputation.
"I told them my personal feeling was that there were a lot of good qualities in Perrault and one mistake may or may not be enough to terminate him or prevent him from doing other things."
Thanks to publicity about his recent resignation from the Zephyrhills Police Department, Robert Perrault, hired to teach criminal justice classes at Zephyrhills High School, is a different case.
When Perrault resigned Aug. 8, he and former police Chief Russell Barnes were the subjects in an investigation of payroll discrepancies within the department.
Schools Superintendent Heather Fiorentino said Friday that Perrault's job will be discussed at Tuesday's school board meeting.
"I'm pulling this for discussion because I want everyone to be comfortable," she said.
Fiorentino said she would recommend that the school board approve Perrault's hiring if it can be shown the police department's investigation would have resulted in punishment no more severe than a written reprimand.
Barnes resigned Tuesday, after City Manager Steve Spina recommended that the city council fire him. A three-week investigation concluded that Barnes falsified payroll records for Perrault, the department's former spokesman and head of internal affairs, who taught classes at Pasco-Hernando Community College. Perrault and Barnes deny wrongdoing.
"I will read the police department's findings very carefully this weekend," Fiorentino said. "We also hope to get something in writing from the city manager that he Perrault would only have gotten a letter of reprimand. That will have a big play in this recommendation."
Perrault and Barnes were placed on paid leave by the city July 29. Perrault had applied for the job at Zephyrhills High 12 days prior.
Renee Sedlack, the school district's director of human resources, said she and two administrators from Zephyrhills High spoke with Spina after reading about the investigation of Perrault, who had already been offered a job at the school.
"We all got the same impression: that the investigation, in the end, would not result in anything major" regarding Perrault, she said.
Friday, Spina said that when he was approached by school officials he could not convey the nature of the investigation because it had not been concluded.
"I never said anything about discipline," he said. "That would be up to the police department."
Capt. David Shears, acting police chief, did not return calls seeking comment Friday.
Perrault was accused of "double dipping" - claiming to have been working for the city when he was teaching at PHCC and getting paid by the college.
According to the city's investigation, Barnes had created a log documenting so-called "flex time" that Perrault used to justify claiming the hours on the clock for both the city and the college. The city has no such policy on its books. City records said Perrault was paid more than $2,000 for hours he did not work, mostly in 2006 and 2007.
"I told them that in my personal opinion I didn't know if the charge was true or not, and that I wouldn't judge one person on one thing," Spina said. "I know of Perrault's abilities with students and the reputation he had when he worked with schools as a resource officer, and that it was a strong reputation.
"I told them my personal feeling was that there were a lot of good qualities in Perrault and one mistake may or may not be enough to terminate him or prevent him from doing other things."