Northpinellas: Teacher denies making sexual advances

The former Tarpon Springs High School teacher had been arrested on campus, spent nine days in jail, lost weeks of pay, watched his career derail, collected unemployment, felt the stares, heard the rumors.

The criminal sexual battery charge against him was ultimately dismissed, but Grayer believed he had more to prove.

So nine months after his arrest, when he had his chance to tell his story to a judge and for the record, he knew just what he wanted to say.

"I did not do this," he said Thursday. He said it again and again.

He did not molest a student in his classroom office, he said. He did not kiss another student and tell her he was in love with her. He did not make comments about porn movies, or oral sex, or pouring beer on a girl's T-shirt. He didn't tell a girl she smelled good enough to eat, didn't tell a girl he couldn't wait until she turned 18 and didn't tell a girl he wanted to climb in her bedroom window.

None of it.

In the final day of a rare four-day administrative hearing, after his accusers had delivered emotional testimony and after 23 other students had described -- piece by piece -- an adolescent drama with alliances and conflicts, insecurities, anxieties, pressures and lots and lots of rumors, Grayer had his turn.

He argued against an array of charges about not only inappropriate sexual comments and behavior, but also about his teaching methods, discipline and classroom management.

Grayer sought the hearing, and initially its focus was to be the alleged sexual advances. But in August, the Pinellas school system filed additional accusations, saying Grayer was a poor teacher.

Now, Administrative Law Judge Robert Meale of Tallahassee will weigh the testimony and issue a finding of fact. The school board will decide whether Grayer should be officially fired from the job it suspended him from last year and whether he is due about $3,000 in lost pay resulting from that suspension.

Grayer, 30, of Clearwater knows he needs a favorable ruling from Meale to renew his teaching certificate so he can find a teaching job in another county.

For the school system, which already has decided Grayer is not suited to return to a classroom here, the case creates a permanent record.

"We could have paid him the $3,000 and avoided this," said Jackie Spoto Bircher, the school board's attorney. "It's not about the money for us."

Last week's unusual hearing played out at Tarpon Springs High, in a conference room near the principal's office. It was strange to return there, Grayer said, and watch his former bosses, colleagues and students raise their right hands and swear to tell the truth.

The accusations started, both sides agree, when a student griped to a school staffer about a grade and mentioned that Grayer had made some sexual comments to other students. After that, girls were called out of class to talk about Grayer to administrators, school investigators and sheriff's deputies.

The girls did not know each other and were reluctant to come forward, Bircher said. But Grayer's lawyer, Mark Herdman, said the girls had known each other and their stories had changed repeatedly. A child psychologist testified that some discrepancies are normal.

Eventually a girl told investigators that Grayer had kissed and fondled her in his office. According to the girl's account, the incident happened while he was under investigation.

She retold the story the first day of the hearing in tears. A second student testified that Grayer had kissed her, although she couldn't remember exactly when.

Those girls and others testified that Grayer had made a variety of sexual remarks. Other students said they had never heard Grayer say anything inappropriate.

Some girls testified that other girls were lying. One student said she'd overheard two girls say they were going to "get Mr. Grayer."

Several students said Grayer was likable and an easy grader. He was the only young black male teacher at the school, and that alone made him different. He liked the same music they liked. He dressed sharp, they said. He looked good in his suits.

Some described his classroom as loosely structured and a hangout for skippers. Others said they learned and worked hard, and that his teaching style was like anyone else's.

A number of girls described becoming the subject of rumors, with students asking them if they'd had sex with the teacher.

"It's a big circus," Grayer said.

Grayer described his assignment at Tarpon High as a recipe for disaster. He had one year of experience at Dixie Hollins High and came to Tarpon expecting to teach courses he was familiar with -- economics and American History.

He was assigned personal fitness, peer mediation, earth science and something called "the freshman experience."

"I'd never even heard of that," he said.

Textbooks were out of date, he testified. Teacher editions and supplemental materials were missing. He had to go to teachers at other schools for help. His classes were designed for unmotivated students at risk of dropping out, he said.

Each class lasted an hour and 45 minutes, and he had no help with lesson plans and little guidance about how to fill that time, he said.

"I felt alone out there," he told the judge.

Grayer was never reprimanded by school administrators about his teaching methods. His evaluations showed no problems. He said he hadn't been informed of policies he allegedly violated, such as showing the wrong movies in class.

Both sides agree that the case is complicated. It's not about just one student. It's not about just one charge. The relationship between young teachers and students can be tricky.

But some lines are clear, the school system maintained. Teachers can't kiss or molest students. Nor can they allow kids who are skipping other classes to hang out in their classrooms.

County administrator Michael Bessette matched several of the allegations against Grayer to county policies and ethical guidelines, repeatedly pointing out what he called instances of noncompliance.

It's up to Judge Meale to determine whether any violations were committed and how serious they were. That decision should come in about 90 days.

Until then, Grayer says, he's done all he can.

"My reputation and my future career lies in his hands right now," he said. "I'm just praying that he makes the right decision."

Back to North Pinellas news

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

Special Links

Mary Jo Melone

Howard Troxler

From the Times
North Pinellas desks