6 replies to this topic

[Nittany Lioness]

http://www.huffingto...kusaolp00000003

What.
The.
Hell,

people.

[Nikcara]

Well, the one important part the article didn't address was whether or not his pension would be severed if he is found guilty by a court.

The guy's a total scumbag and given the evidence against him I'm assuming he's going to be found guilty, but I wouldn't like the idea of the school being able to revoke someone's pension simply because a person was accused of inappropriate behavior without any burden of proof.  Right now he's still innocent until proven guilty in the eyes of the law.  I hope that there is a clause that if a teacher is found guilty of inappropriate/sexual behavior or abuse towards children (particularly those in his class) that his pension can be revoked.  Even if there's not a specific clause, I wonder if they'll be able to sue him for breech of contract or failure to protect or some of the other dozens of laws teachers have to follow.

[Nittany Lioness]

Dear god - I didn't know the extent of pornographic bondage photos he'd taken with children for years.

And guess what! - another teacher from the same school is now arrested.

[Mark]

Nittany Lioness, on 02 February 2012 - 07:38 PM, said:

http://www.huffingto...kusaolp00000003

What.
The.
Hell,

people.

Mark: If he's found guilty in court, he'll be in prison for a very long time. Kind of hard to spend his $4,000 a month pension when he'll be spending it in jail...hopefully with inmates who will know he's a pervert, and what crimes he's convicted of. Perhaps he'll get a taste of...ah never mind. You know what I'm thinking! He was allowed to keep his pension because during the time the district was making a decision on firing him, the accused Mark Berndt, was SOMEHOW allowed to "resign". That somehow sealed the his pension's payout.

From the link Nittany posted above...

Quote

However, according to KTLA,  although the school did take steps to fire Berndt, somehow he was  allowed to resign before termination, which meant that he was able to  retain all of his benefits. The Huffington Post reached out to Deasy for  clarification on the issue, to which his representative responded:  "After the Board approved his dismissal, we placed him in unpaid status  pending OAH [California Office of Administrative Hearings] hearing. He  resigned prior to the hearing. It is true that current laws do not  prevent an individual from earning his retirement benefits."

  As the Los Angeles Times reports,  Berndt will receive $4,000 a month in pension for life from the  California State Teachers' Retirement System as well as lifetime health  benefits from the district.

More follow-ups to this situation have occurred since Nittany posted this thread, however. It seems another teacher in the same school district, in the SAME SCHOOL has been brought up on sexual charges!
http://blogs.laweekl...ond_teacher.php

Quote

Sheriff's officials this afternoon named the second suspect as  49-year-old Martin Bernard Springer, who they said had been under  surveillance since yesterday. He was arrested on suspicion of lewd acts upon a child. He was jailed in lieu of $2 million bail.According to a Sheriff's statement, detectives interviewed Springer and others and say: The allegations involve two girls who were allegedly fondled  in the classroom at Miramonte school by Suspect Springer. They were  approximately 7-years old at the time of the incidents, which were  alleged to have occurred during the past three years.  

Also, the original suspect, Mark Berndt, was accused of fondling a 10 or 11 year old girl 18 years ago, yet the L.A. Unified School District let him keep his job?
http://blogs.laweekl...erndt_lausd.php

This school district needs a thorough investigation! Guess what? My wish came true two days ago according to this report...  http://blogs.laweekl...use_scandal.php

Quote

L.A. Unified School District chief John Deasy told parents tonight that  the entire staff of the school would be replaced as authorities  investigate the atrocious alleged sex crimes that took place at the  Florence-Firestone campus.  However, many staff members would be allowed to eventually return, according to the Los Angeles Times.

  It appeared to be a move to appease angry parents, who pulled one out of every four students from school today:

  The 1,500-student campus in the country's second-largest district is  closing tomorrow and Wednesday as the investigation continues.

Also related to this school district's troubles... http://www.laweekly....-of-the-lemons/ ...that link discusses why this particular school district has such a hard time firing it's bad employees, and how much money they've spent trying to fire them.

[Bad Wolf]

If he's found guilty he should get squat.  If he's acquitted it's an interesting point.  In the eyes of the law he will be innocent.  Can the school withhold pension and benefits without getting in trouble if he's legally innocent?  Not such a black and white issue.  (Of course I think the evidence is overwhelming, and that if he's acquitted, he'll still get what's coming to him.  Karma's a bitch).  IMO guys who do this completely deserve the death penalty, not as a deterrent, but because they are cancerous pieces of sh*t that need to be excised from society.

[Balderdash]

Bad Wolf, on 08 February 2012 - 04:36 AM, said:

If he's found guilty he should get squat.  If he's acquitted it's an interesting point.  In the eyes of the law he will be innocent.  Can the school withhold pension and benefits without getting in trouble if he's legally innocent?  Not such a black and white issue.  (Of course I think the evidence is overwhelming, and that if he's acquitted, he'll still get what's coming to him.  Karma's a bitch).  IMO guys who do this completely deserve the death penalty, not as a deterrent, but because they are cancerous pieces of sh*t that need to be excised from society.

Yep, this.

[Nonny]

This is "what the hell, people":

LAUSD paid $40,000 to settle case with Miramonte teacher Mark Berndt

Quote

... The case ended before going to a formal hearing when Berndt resigned in June. The District agreed to pay Berndt nearly $24,000 in backpay from the date of his suspension, allowing him to retain his lifetime health-benefits. He also received $16,000 to pay his legal fees, according to LAUSD settlement documents obtained in a joint investigation by KPCC and NBC4.

"We have no control over whether an employee in the dismissal process can resign or not," said LAUSD general counsel David Holmquist "That's completely up to them."

The District decided to pay Berndt the retroactive salary and attorneys' fees to avoid potentially greater costs down the road, said Holmquist. He said that if the District had refused to pay, Berndt could have gone to Superior Court seeking the money, and an eventual ruling against the District could have cost LAUSD even more.

Superintendent John Deasy said he was not familiar with the settlement documents, but that everybody appeals a dismissal. “I don’t authorize settlements, the legal department does with the Board,” Deasy said.

It is not unusual for the board to settle dismissal cases, which are often appealed by teachers and can drag on for years....

I stayed out of this thread because I found the focus on the pension and not the victims distasteful, but I just heard about this on the local NPR station, so here it is.  The circumstances are now, of course, different.  

My sympathy is with the parents outraged at the loss of the entire staff and the kids sobbing over the loss of their innocent favorite teachers.  I'm disgusted by the cynical district spokesflunky who plans to wait them out.  

BTW that plan to put in a new staff of temps every 20 has nothing to do with student safety.  Temps get a 35% boost in pay on Day 21.