12-003865TTS Seminole County School Board vs. Howard D. Moore, Sr. Status: Closed Recommended Order on Thursday, February 14, 2013.

Summary: School Board established just cause to terminate bus driver that made unauthorized stop, leaving students on bus with motor running.

STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

SEMINOLE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD , )

)

Petitioner , )

)

vs. ) Case No. 12 - 3865TTS

)

HOWARD D. MOORE, SR. , )

)

Respondent . )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, a final hearing was held on January 22,

2013 , in Sanford, Florida , before Thomas P. Crapps, a designated

Administrative Law Judge of the Division of Administrative

Hearings (DOAH).

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Serita D. Beamon, Esquire

Seminole County School Board

400 East Lake Mary Boulevard

Sanford, Florida 32773 - 7127

For Respondent: Howard D. Moore, Sr., pro se

1100 West 25th Street

Sanford, F lorida 32771 - 4240

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE

Whether Petitioner established Ð just cause Ñ to terminate

Respondent's employment as a school bus driver.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

On November 2, 2012, Respondent, Howard D. Moore, Sr.

(Mr. Moo re) , received formal notice from the Superintendent of

Seminole County Public Schools that he would recommend Mr. Moore

be terminated from his employment as a school bus driver "based

upon evidence that you jeopardized the health, safety , and

welfare of st udents when you left students on a bus that was

still running to go into a place of business." On November 13,

2012, Mr. Moore timely requested a hearing concerning the

allegations. O n November 28, 2012, the Superintendent filed a

petition with the Semin ole County School Board (School Board) to

terminate Mr. Moore's employment based on the allegation that

Mr. Moore, during his morning school bus route, had "exited the

school bus while leaving the school bus running and students

aboard the school bus."

Mr. Moore's request for a hearing and the Petition for

Termination were transmitted to DOAH . Based on responses filed

by the parties, a hearing was scheduled for January 23, 2013 , in

Sanford, Florida. At the January 23, 2013, hearing, the School

Board pr esented the testimony of Julie Murphy (Ms. Murphy),

Deborah Moon (Ms. Moon), and Mr. Moore. The School Board

introduced into evidence Exhibits numbered 1, 5 through 10, 12,

and 14 through 18. Mr. Moore testified on his own behalf, and

did not offer any e xhibits into evidence.

A one - volume Transcript was filed in this case on

January 31 , 2013. On February 11, 2013, the School Board filed

its Proposed Recommended Order. Mr. Moore did not file a

Proposed Recommended Order.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. M r . Moor e has been a school bus driver in Seminole

County since 2009.

2. The operative facts are not in dispute. On October 24,

2012, Mr. Moore was beginning his morning school bus route.

After picking up two students, Mr. Moore, at approximately

6:45 a.m., pulled into a parking lot of a local doughnut shop and

parked the bus. Mr. Moore exited the bus, left the school bus

door open with the motor idling. Mr. Moore returned within three

minutes with a bagel and a soft - drink. All of these events were

capture d on video, and Mr. Moore does not dispute that this early

morning breakfast stop occurred. Mr. Moore's only explanation is

that he was not thinking, and had been under a lot of personal

stress at the time.

3. The School Board has a specific policy th at requires a

school bus driver to operate the bus with "maximum regard for the

safety of students and due consideration for the protection o f

health of all students . . . . " School Board Policy 8.31.

Moreover, a bus driver is prohibited from using the b us for

personal business , and prohibited from leaving the bus' motor

unnecessarily idling while in the vicinity of students . School

Board Polic ies 8.48 , and 6.22(J).

4. In addition to the School Board Policies, the School

Board bus drivers are required t o follow the procedures set out

in the School Bus Operations Handbook (Handbook). Seminole

County Public Schools, Transportation Services , School Bus

Operations Handbook, ( a mended July 2012). Importantly , for this

case, the Handbook expressly provides th at a driver shall never

leave students unattended on the school bus. School Bus

Operations Handbook at 247. Further, the Handbook provides that

in the event a driver must leave the bus, the driver must set the

parking brake and remove the bus keys from t he ignition. Id. A

s chool b us driver is then directed to keep the keys in his or her

possession. Id. Finally, the Handbook clearly states that the

school bus driver is not to leave the approved bus route without

permission. Id.

5. Mr. Moore receive d extensive training in the School

Board 's policies concerning the safe operation of the school bus

and the School Board 's expectations for its school bus drivers

found in the Handbook.

6 . Mr. Moore is sincere in his testimony that he loves his

job , and forthright in his admission that he made a mistake in

stopping for his morning breakfast while on his bus route.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

7 . DOAH has jurisdiction over the parties and subject

matter of this proceeding. § 120.57(1), Fla. Stat.

8 . The Scho ol Board has the authority to operate, control ,

and supervise the public schools in its district. See Art. IX,

§ 4(b), Fla. Const. This authority includes the termination or

suspension of educational support personnel. § 1012.27, Fla.

Stat. (2012). Sta te law permits school districts to adopt rules

governing personnel matters. § 1012.23(1), Fla. Stat. The law

provides that a school district may terminate a person's

employment "for reasons stated in the collective bargaining

agreement, or in district sc hool board rule in cases where a

collective bargaining agreement does not exist[.]"

§ 1012.40(2)(b), Fla. Stat.

9 . The School Board here entered into a Collective

Bargaining Agreement, titled Agreement with the Seminole County

School Bus Drivers' Asso ciation, Inc., and the School Board of

Seminole County (Collective Bargaining Agreement). The

Collective Bargaining Agreement provides that school bus drivers,

who have been hired for a minimum of three continuous years,

shall not be disciplined, suspende d , or terminated except for

"just cause." Collective Bargaining Agreement, A rt. IX, § 4( a ) .

Further, t he Collective Bargaining Agreement provides the

following :

C. An employee may be suspended without pay

or discharged for reasons including, but not

lim ited to, the following provided just cause

is present.

1. Violation of School Board Policy .

2. Violation of work rules.

* * *

5. Endangering the health, safety , or

welfare of any student or employee of the

District.

The term "just cause" is not defined in the Collective

Bargaining Agreement or in the School Board policies. However,

the Collective Bargaining Agreement's statement listing reasons

for discharging an employee is instructive for determining what

facts constitute "just cause."

10. T he School Board has the burden of proving that "just

cause" exists by the preponderance of the evidence. McNeill v.

Pinellas C n ty . Sch . Bd. , 678 So. 2d 476 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996).

11 . Applying the rules of law to the facts here, the School

Board met its burden of showing Ð just cause Ñ to terminate

Mr. Moore's employment. It is undisputed that Mr. Moore violated

the work rules set out in the Handbook and School Board policies

by leaving the students unsupervised on a school bus with the

engine runnin g and the door open. Further, the record clearly

showed that Mr. Moore used the school bus for his own personal

business on an unauthorized stop. These facts show that Mr.

Moore's action violated the School Board Policy directing that a

driver take maxim um regard for the students' safety. Thankfully,

the facts here showed that no harm occurred. However, it does

not take a lot of imagination to see how Mr. Moore's actions

could have resulted in a danger to the students left on the bus.

Therefore, the un dersigned finds that the School Board proved by

the preponderance of the evidence that "just cause" exists to

terminate Mr. Moore's employment.

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of

Law, it is RECOMMENDED that the Semi nole County School Board

terminate Mr. Moore's employment.

DONE AND ENTERED this 1 4 th day of February, 2013 , in

Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.

S

THOMAS P. CRAPPS

Administrative Law Judge

Division of Administrative Hea rings

The DeSoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 3060

(850) 488 - 9675

Fax Filing (850) 921 - 6847

www.doah.state.fl.us

Filed with the Clerk of the

Division of Administrative Hearings

this 1 4 th day of February , 2013 .

ENDNOTE

1/ References to Florida Statutes shall be the 2012 version

unless otherwise indicated .

COPIES FURNISHED:

Serita D. Beamon, Esquire

Seminole County School Board

Legal Service Department

400 East Lake Mary Boulevard

Sanford, Florida 32773 - 7127

Howard D. Moore, Sr.

1100 West 25th Street

Sanford, Florida 32771 - 4240

Walt Griffin, Superintendent

Seminole County School Board

400 East Lake Mary Boulevard

Sanford, Florida 32773 - 7127

Matthew Carson, General Counsel

Department of Education

Turlington Building , Suite 1244

325 West Gaines Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 0400

Dr. Tony Bennett, Commissioner

Department of Education

Turlington Building, Suite 1514

325 West Gaines Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 0400

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO SUBMIT EXCEPTIONS

All parties have the right to submit written exceptions within

15 days from the date of this Recommended Order. Any exceptions

to this Recommended Order should be filed with the agency that

will issue the Final Order in this case.