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Ransaw wages fight on 2 fronts

The fired middle school principal won't abandon his civil lawsuit against the school district as he runs for a School Board seat.

By TOM MARSHALL
Published August 1, 2006

BROOKSVILLE - Fired school principal Michael Ransaw lost two legal battles in July to win back his job and reputation, with judges at the federal and state levels tossing out two of his three lawsuits involving the Hernando County School Board on procedural grounds.

On July 17 a federal judge terminated Ransaw's civil rights lawsuit against the School Board, saying his lawyer failed to meet court deadlines, despite an extension. And on July 11 a state appellate judge dismissed the appeal of his firing this year after a filing fee was not paid.

Ransaw was suspended in 2004 as principal at Powell Middle School for failing to disclose during job interviews that he had pawned a laptop computer and been demoted while working as an assistant principal in Broward County.

In 2006, an administrative law judge found him guilty of misconduct and gross insubordination, both for those actions and his behavior during a subsequent investigation, and the Hernando board fired him on that basis.

But Ransaw said this week that he has no plans to leave Hernando County or abandon a pending civil suit against the district.

Instead, he's doing his best to win election to a School Board seat in District 1 against incumbent Robert Wiggins and challengers John Sweeney and Richard McDermott.

"I made a bonehead mistake almost six years ago, during a time in my life where I was going through a family crisis and was distracted," Ransaw said, referring to what he described as the temporary pawning of his Broward County laptop.

"But I still have strong feelings for a lot of people, and I also have strong feelings for the education system in Hernando County," he added. "I feel I can continue to be an asset."

In the federal suit, U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday said Ransaw's attorney had missed both a June deadline and a July 7 extension to respond to defense motions.

The attorney, Willie Jones, asked the judge to reconsider his dismissal of the case on July 24, saying he had been sick and confined to bed rest. But Merryday said that claim held no water - at least without a doctor's note.

"The court cannot excuse Jones's continual failure to comply with filing deadlines," Merryday wrote.

The decision leaves one lawsuit unresolved: Ransaw's civil suit in district court against the School Board, superintendent Wendy Tellone and officials who were involved in his hiring.

That lawsuit - for alleged violations including breach of contract, negligence and gross negligence, slander and libel, and infliction of emotional distress - has already been dismissed twice without prejudice on procedural grounds, with Judge Daniel Merritt Sr. citing "numerous defects."

Attorney Jones told the court last year that he would produce new evidence to substantiate his claims, and filed a revised complaint in May.

Ransaw said he is determined to see that case through.

"The reason that I'm pursuing the lawsuits is simple," he said. "This is my livelihood. (Otherwise) I may never get the opportunity to work again, if I choose to, in the public school system."

Tom Marshall can be reached at tmarshall@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1431.

[Last modified July 31, 2006, 21:33:21]