Hernando High Coach Goes To Hearing

BROOKSVILLE - The fate of a popular teacher and assistant football coach will be on the line this week.

Tomorrow marks the first day of the hearing for Hernando High School teacher Shawn Bingham, who requested legal proceedings after being suspended without pay in September after officials said he found a wallet on a bleacher in the school's gymnasium, removed $75 and returned the wallet without the cash.

"I'll just be happy when this is over and I can get back to Hernando and continue teaching, coaching and being around my peers," Bingham said, when reached at his home Monday. "This has been very stressful for my family."

The incident occurred Sept. 17 during a physical education class. Security footage retrieved from a video camera in the school's gym shows Bingham picking up a wallet, walking away from the bench and returning the wallet upon his return.

Bingham - who has been suspended with pay since Sept. 21 - maintains he was merely doing his job and returned the empty wallet because it did not have any identification in it.

"It's a shame that they have to go by what a student says, as opposed to what I've been saying since day one," he said. "I can understand if there was a video of me actually taking the money out of the wallet, but they don't have that."

The footage has raised flags because is not a streaming video, but instead a series of snapshots taken from a distance. It also shows the student retrieving the wallet, looking in it and returning it to his pocket without turning around to look for the money.

In October, Hernando County School Board members voted 5-0 to follow Superintendent Wayne Alexander's recommendation to continue the suspension and forward the case to Florida's Division of Administrative Hearings.

School board attorney Paul Carland declined to comment, but pointed toward Alexander's original position: A recommendation that Bingham be terminated.

If Bingham prevails, the district will be responsible for back pay, as well as paying for the long-term substitute who has been teaching his physical education classes in his absence.

The district would also be responsible for any costs incurred in the case, including the hearing officer's fee and all other court-related costs.

School board members agreed to trust the process, which is similar to that used in the investigation of former Powell Middle School principal Michael Ransaw, who misappropriated school property while working at a previous job in another school district.

However, the process won't be a swift endeavor. The initial hearing will take two days, and Carland estimated it could take up to 60 days to get through the process.

Following testimony from all witnesses, the hearing officer has 30 to 45 days to issue a report and recommendation to Alexander and the school board for a final decision.

If Bingham loses, the Hernando Classroom Teachers' Association would be responsible for the costs.

Clearwater-based attorney Mark Herdman, who is representing Bingham on behalf of the HCTA, was unavailable for comment at press time.

Since the suspension, Bingham said he has received tremendous support from his students, peers and others throughout the community. Students even published a recent article in the school's newspaper "Purple and Gold" defending him and wishing his a quick return.

"The majority of the students want me back at the high school and miss me - especially the guys on the football team," he said. "I've also seen many of my co-workers and (other district employees) around town who tell me they support me, as well."

Bingham was one of two defensive coordinators for the school's football team.

By law, the school board can fire or suspend any teacher without pay and benefits, though the teacher has the right to request a hearing, which is what Bingham has done.

If he had not requested a hearing, his silence would have meant he admitted the charges in the petition were true.

A Brooksville resident, Bingham's suspension means he is technically still a school district employee, but is not allowed to go to work.

He and his family have been surviving on one income: his wife's, who is director of YMCA childcare at Brooksville Elementary.

"We have a lot of bills going unpaid, a lot of people calling for their money," Bingham said. "We've had some help from family, but we can only do that for so long."

Until the situation is resolved, he is also prevented from attending all of his 13-year-old daughter's school-related events at Parrott Middle School. That has meant all of her volleyball and basketball games, as well as a recent honor roll celebration.

"This county has said they want parental involvement, but yet here I am - my daughter's on the honor roll, and I can't even go to her party to see her accept her award," Bingham said.

"It's been very stressful not being able to attend any of her games," he added. "In the past, she'd look up at the stands and see us both there, but I couldn't be there to support her this season. She was pretty down about that."

Bingham said he's just ready for his name to be cleared so he can return to normalcy.

"I appreciate everyone's support, and I just look forward to getting back to work at Hernando," he said.

The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the district school board office, 919 N. Broad Street in Brooksville.