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Ex-Sergeant Is OK To Teach

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By GEOFF FOX

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 27, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Robert Perrault Jr., a former sergeant accused of padding his time sheets at the Zephyrhills Police Department, can continue teaching criminal justice classes at Zephyrhills High School.
School board members were supposed to discuss whether to approve Perrault's hiring at their meeting Tuesday night. That didn't happen because school board member Marge Whaley, who had asked to review his employment, was ill and didn't attend the meeting.

Pasco County schools Superintendent Heather Fiorentino said she expects to recommend the board approve Perrault's hiring whenever the matter comes up.

The school board approved dozens of new hires Tuesday night without discussion. Such approval is routine, with employees being formally accepted in batches, usually after they already have started work.

But the school board was expected to individually discuss the hiring of Perrault, who resigned from the Zephyrhills force Aug. 8 amid a pay investigation.

He and former police Chief Russell Barnes were the subjects of an investigation into payroll discrepancies within the department. Perrault, 35, applied for the Zephyrhills High job 12 days before being placed on paid leave.

Fiorentino said a letter and recommendation from Zephyrhills City Manager Steve Spina were enough to persuade her to recommend Perrault's hiring.

Barnes resigned last week. A three-week investigation concluded he falsified payroll records for Perrault, who also taught at Pasco-Hernando Community College. Perrault and Barnes deny wrongdoing.
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. Perrault resigned before the investigation was concluded, leaving the city with no need to discipline him.

According to the city's investigation, Barnes created a log documenting "flex time" that Perrault used to justify claiming hours for both the city and the college. The city has no such policy on its books. Perrault was paid more than $2,000 for hours he did not work, mostly in 2006 and 2007, according to city records.

"I don't see anything from the city to change his current employment," Fiorentino said after Tuesday's meeting. She said she wasn't sure whether Perrault's situation would be discussed at a school board meeting next week.

Last week, Fiorentino said she likely would recommend that Perrault be approved to teach at Zephyrhills High if Spina wrote a letter saying Perrault would have received nothing more serious than a written reprimand.

Spina said in a letter to the school district that it would be "speculative" for him to say what punishment might have been imposed against Perrault, but action could have ranged from a written admonishment to termination.

On the school district's reference form, Spina did not indicate whether he would "employ or reemploy this individual."

Reporter Christian Wade contributed to this report. Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 779-4613 or gfox@tampatrib.com.

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