Editorial: Fired teachers convicted of crimes should draw no pay

By: Editorial | Opelika Auburn News
Published: June 09, 2009

It’s bad enough that a teacher lured a 14-year-old student for sex. It’s even worse that the teacher continues to draw a paycheck from her school system while serving a 10-year jail sentence.

Charlene Schmitz, who was found guilty in February 2008 of the sex crime in Washington County, was fired by the system after her conviction.

So why is she still getting paid?

According to the state’s teacher tenure act, educators can continue to draw a paycheck until a hearing officer rules whether the termination was justified. That said, one would think this hearing officer would get the ball rolling and make this ruling, thus ending her money pipeline.

But it’s not that easy. To avoid self-incrimination, the hearing officer cannot review the case if she is tried criminally. Though Schmitz has already been convicted, she is appealing the ruling. Therefore, as long as the appeal process lasts, Schmitz will draw a salary from jail while many teachers in Alabama who work hard are taking pay cuts.

We have a woman charged with and convicted of having with sex with a student, and she still gets paid. We have teachers giving all they have to make Alabama’s students the best they can be, and they face the threat of salary cuts and proration.

Something needs to be done. This system is in clear need of change. It’s outlandish that hearing officers cannot make these decisions during a criminal case. If you are convicted of a crime in a court of law, that should be enough right there to allow school systems to stop payments.

Adding this extra step that allows for convicted criminals to draw a salary while educators across the state scrap to pay for classroom supplies is beyond comprehension. It’s time the folks from the Alabama Education Association stepped in and lobbied for the abolishment of such practices.

This law may be in place for teachers’ protection, but we believe most teachers in this state would agree that convicted lawbreakers should not be drawing wages and depriving a school system of funds.

There is plenty of time between now and the next general session of the Alabama Legislature. Hopefully, legislation repealing this ridiculous law will be drafted and approved so in the future similar situations will not occur, embarrass our state and deprive school systems of money that should in no way to go a person behind bars.