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Music teacher to be fired despite acquittal

The School Board follows the advice of an administrative law judge who heard testimony.

By THOMAS C. TOBIN, Times Staff Writer
Published October 25, 2006

A jury last year quickly acquitted Fronczak, 51, of criminal charges that he sexually abused three girls in his classroom at Southern Oak Elementary in Largo. The jury foreperson in that case has said the testimony of the girls did not seem credible and that there were other holes in the prosecution's case.

But an administrative law judge who heard two days of testimony in May saw the case differently, finding the girls' testimony credible and recommending that Fronczak be fired.

The board agreed with her by a vote of 3-2.

Under state rules, board members had little leeway. To reject the judge's recommendation, they would need to review the entire record of the case and state "with particularity" why the judge was wrong. In short, the board was not allowed to retry the case.

Tampa lawyer Mark Kelly, representing Fronczak, cited two points made by a psychiatrist who testified in May for the teacher. One, he said, is that the girl who made the chief allegations first denied she was abused at least 10 times. The psychiatrist also said it was rare for child victims to deny abuse when initially questioned, Kelly said.

He also argued that two sisters who alleged Fronczak touched them inappropriately testified the abuse occurred daily in a classroom where other teachers and administrators would walk through unannounced. Their allegations were "utterly implausible on their face," Kelly said.

But Laurie Dart, an attorney for the district, said the administrative law judge is trained to assess witnesses' credibility and sort through conflicting accounts. The judge, she said, heard two days of testimony from 19 witnesses in a setting where she was close enough to see them eye to eye.

The psychiatrist cited by Kelly is not an expert in credibility, Dart told the board. "The fact that there is conflicting evidence is irrelevant."

Board members Janet Clark and Linda Lerner, who voted in Fronczak's favor, said they were troubled by some allegations that did not add up. Lerner also said she was troubled the judge did not state why she found the girls' statements credible.

In another personnel move Tuesday, board members voted 4-1 to suspend Quincy Ham, a teacher at Osceola High, for three days for remarks he made to a female student. When the student made a comment about his hair, Ham responded with a comment about her heavy makeup, according to a district report.

"It makes you look like a two- dollar (whore)," Ham said.

The board debated the seriousness of a teacher using the slang for whore.

Clark said it was a common term among students and that Ham's use of it warranted discipline, but not a three-day suspension. "I don't think he was calling her a whore," Clark argued. "To me, there's a difference between calling someone a whore and saying you look like one."

Other board members disagreed.

Dart, the attorney, explained the administration's rationale for recommending the suspension. "We equated that to profanity directed at a student," she said.

In other action, the board gave initial approval to two new charter schools. Imagine Charter School at Pinellas would emphasize basic reading skills and moral and character education. Excelsior Academy of Language would emphasize Spanish instruction.

[Last modified October 25, 2006, 06:39:50]