L.A. teacher suspected of lewd conduct keeps benefits

A teacher charged with 23 counts of lewd conduct in his classroom successfully thwarted attempts by the Los Angeles Unified School District to fire him. In the process, the teacher, who is accused of spoon-feeding his semen to blindfolded children, managed to retain lifetime health-benefits provided by the nation’s second-largest school system.
Former Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt also automatically receives nearly $4,000 a month in pension from the California State Teachers' Retirement System.
Investigators were a year away from filing charges against Berndt, 61, when they brought copies of disturbing photos to the school principal on Jan. 3, 2011, according to investigators. Sheriff's investigators had pictures of boys and girls gagged with tape, blindfolded and some were being fed a milky substance from a spoon.
L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy — then the No. 2 in command — said he acted to remove Berndt from class the same day he saw the photos and felt there was justification for immediate dismissal. Records indicate that Berndt was pulled from the school on Jan. 6, 2011. And, then-L.A. schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines, who has since retired, said he ordered Berndt to be fired when he heard about the photos.
The district’s legal staff warned Cortines that there might be complications for acting so quickly. Standard practice in L.A. Unified and elsewhere has been to “house” teachers in a district office, away from students, until a legal issue is resolved. But Cortines said he told senior staff that he didn’t want to wait, an account that was confirmed by a former Cortines aide.
By Feb. 15, the paperwork was ready for the elected Board of Education to dismiss Berndt formally and the school board ratified Cortines’ decision. As of Feb. 16, the district stopped paying Berndt, said Vivian Ekchian, chief human resources officer for L.A. Unified.
But the matter didn't end there. Berndt had 30 days to challenge his dismissal, which he did with the help of Trygstad, Schwab & Trygstad, a firm known for representing the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles. In this case, Berndt hired the firm privately; its specialties include defending teachers facing dismissal.
Berndt’s case was then set to go before an administrative hearing panel, a process that would take months. While awaiting a hearing, Berndt resigned from the school system in June 2011, six months after Deasy and Cortines determined to fire him.
Because Berndt never was officially fired, he retains lifetime health benefits that he earned through decades of service in L.A. Unified. Ekchian said the district is researching its options for trying to rescind those benefits should Berndt be convicted.
His retirement benefits were never at issue.
“A teacher will receive their pension regardless of the reason for their termination because it is a benefit the teacher earned through their contributions and length of service,” said Michelle Mussuto, a spokeswoman for CalSTRS.“Once earned, that benefit cannot be taken away unless it is determined the teacher obtained that benefit by fraudulent means.”
Berndt has been receiving $3,891.17 per month since last July.

Should you be forced to join a union that protects a person like this?

The Democrats say yes.
The Republicans say no.

I was one of his students and I liked what he did to me.

We see johnny boy, you guys are KILLING each other and you're a loser again/still ! A wannabee/copy cat, LOSER !

I want to be on Fear Factor and drink a big warm glass of....

Oh no, I crapped in my pants again.

Jack Boot wrote:

Should you be forced to join a union that protects a person like this?
The Democrats say yes.
The Republicans say no.

The NFT and the NEA should be banned. Only then will education become "for the children".

IrishMN wrote:

<quoted text>
The NFT and the NEA should be banned. Only then will education become "for the children".

The L.A. Times article omitted the fact that the Police were notified in Jan. 2011, as was the Principal, but everyone waited over a year to tell the parents. Clearly the teacher is bonkers, what
are the Redondo beach cops' and school Principal Mark Sandoval's excuse....

Then YOU blame the union, because the district & police BLEW IT !

Seattle Slew wrote:

<quoted text>The L.A. Times article omitted the fact that the Police were notified in Jan. 2011, as was the Principal, but everyone waited over a year to tell the parents. Clearly the teacher is bonkers, what
are the Redondo beach cops' and school Principal Mark Sandoval's excuse....
Then YOU blame the union, because the district & police BLEW IT !

A rational response...one in a thousand. Nice ratio.

The failure of the police and the pricipal, if that is true, does not excuse this slug from being protected by the teacher's union.

Teacher's unions care nothing about the children, or education. They care about power an money - and stealing from the taxpayers.

Ban all public unions and do it now. Including the NEA and NFT.

IrishMN wrote:

<quoted text>
A rational response...one in a thousand. Nice ratio.
The failure of the police and the pricipal, if that is true, does not excuse this slug from being protected by the teacher's union.
Teacher's unions care nothing about the children, or education. They care about power an money - and stealing from the taxpayers.
Ban all public unions and do it now. Including the NEA and NFT.

(principle)He hired an attorney HIMSELF, but don't do the research, you have a closed mind anyway. Too bad you have a big mouth... AND consistently dumb "bedfellows".. Nice irrelevant rant, too. Especially because the school violated the contract and screwed up procedure... Yeah, the administrations failure is NOT the union's fault !

IrishMN wrote:

<quoted text>
A rational response...one in a thousand. Nice ratio.
The failure of the police and the pricipal, if that is true, does not excuse this slug from being protected by the teacher's union.
Teacher's unions care nothing about the children, or education. They care about power an money - and stealing from the taxpayers.
Ban all public unions and do it now. Including the NEA and NFT.

BAN ALL DUMB LIARS ! That'S YOU !

I guess the meds wore off. Back to ignoring Horseface again.

IrishMN wrote:

I guess the meds wore off. Back to ignoring Horseface again.

Get it right numbnuts. It is "Horse Face Henrietta".

I like to smell my own underwear after I crap in it.

Seattle Slew wrote:

<quoted text>BAN ALL DUMB LIARS ! That'S YOU !

Ms Slew asked me to ask you all......

Are farts sometimes "wet"?

Go Obama 2012!

IrishMN wrote:

I guess the meds wore off. Back to ignoring Horseface again.

Look at the LIARS present facts/farts, like children.... See what happens when a food stamp swilling drunk, excludes FACTS ! LMAOROTF !

Oh no, I just crapped in my pants again!

Yeah, the Ip showed you did, john !

What I take from this story is that the LA school board apparently has signed a union contract with their teachers giving them lifetime gealth benefits. They will never be able to pay for that and will eventually have to cut the benefits or have the state or local taxpayers bail them out. What were they thinking?

Oh no, I just crapped in my pants again!

IrishMN wrote:

I guess the meds wore off. Back to ignoring Horseface again.

Only 999 more posts until we see another rational one!