TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

School Board Sued Over Teacher's Erratic Conduct

ADVERTISEMENT

By THOMAS W. KRAUSE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 22, 2007

Updated: 10/22/2007 09:22 am

TAMPA - At first, the girl's mother didn't quite believe her.

The Pierce Middle School sixth-grader complained that her teacher was weird, that he kept touching her head and stroking her hair.

'As a parent,' the mother said, 'you think it's an innocent thing.'

She asked her daughter whether she should go to the school and talk with him.

'No, no, no, Mom,' the mother said, quoting her daughter. 'He'll get mad.'

Last week, the girl, now 13, and another female student filed lawsuits against the Hillsborough County School Board. The suits allege negligence and infliction of emotional distress.

The girls and their mothers hope their suits will result in a new investigation into Steven Harold Smith to determine whether any other girls were harassed. When the teens complained in October 2006, the school opened an inquiry. It was dropped four days later after Smith, 52, died of a cocaine-induced heart attack.

The two girls and their mothers said they want to know how the school could retain a teacher with a propensity for inappropriate behavior toward female students and a drug habit. They are not being named by The Tampa Tribune because of the nature of the allegations and because of the girls' ages.

'We want to know what the school knew,' said their attorney, Mark Wright.

Schools spokesman Steve Hegarty declined comment, citing school policy on pending lawsuits.

Pierce Middle School personnel records show Smith taught a computer class at Tampa Preparatory School in 1984 and 1985. From 1987 until 1991, Smith taught math in Pasco County. After working for 10 years for the Florida Department of Corrections, educating inmates, Smith applied to work in Hillsborough County schools, starting as a substitute and soon on staff full time.

In March 2003, the principal at Pierce put a memo in Smith's file criticizing him for failing to follow Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test procedure. In 2005, he was reprimanded for having no plan for a substitute teacher, having a disorganized classroom and a messy desk. By late 2005, Smith's file shows complaints that he acted inappropriately toward students and colleagues.

'You acted in an intimidating manner toward students on two occasions, one of which was witnessed by two teachers,' a memo from Principal Victor Fernandez reads.

A stack of papers in Smith's file document increasing problems, peaking in February 2006.

Memos direct Smith to remove a refrigerator, a microwave and a toaster oven from his classroom. The memo states that ants had formed large piles in the classroom corners and rodent droppings were found on his desk. The infestation was attributed to the food and dirty plates on Smith's desk.

That month, students and parents began to write letters complaining that Smith cursed at them and demeaned them.

The principal instructed Smith to attend seminars on disciplining difficult students and anger management classes. Follow-up memos state that he had not completed the required classes.

Drug Habit Unearthed, Police Say

In July 2006, Tampa police received a complaint that Smith was buying drugs in the parking lot of his apartment on West Shore Boulevard. Officers went to speak with him and found a trash bag outside. They searched the bag and found a glass pipe with cocaine residue, two marijuana stems and a plastic bag with cocaine residue.

When they confronted Smith, he acknowledged that twice a week he spent $20 to $60 on crack and $5 to $30 on marijuana. Smith told the officers he wanted to stop using drugs and that he was 'willing to work with law enforcement,' the report states.

Andrea Davis, a Tampa police spokeswoman, said department policy requires officers to notify school officials when a school employee is arrested on child abuse or drug charges. Smith was not arrested, so the school was not notified.

Behavior Complaint

On Oct. 26, 2006, the mother of a 12-year-old Pierce student told the principal her daughter was the victim of unwanted touching by Smith and was concerned over some of his comments. Smith, the mother said, told her daughter she was going to be 'hot' one day, and that he once followed her home from school. Smith tried to arrange for private tutoring with the girl, her mother said.

Smith was put on paid administrative leave, according to police reports. He was supposed to return to the school Oct. 31 and had a professional standards hearing scheduled for Nov. 1

He didn't show. A school representative went to Smith's apartment and found him dead on a couch. A report shows Smith died of heart disease aggravated by cocaine.

Wright, the attorney for the two teenage girls, said the school ended the investigation into Smith after his death.

Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT