By Ron Matus, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Embattled Pinellas school district administrator Janet Hernandez is being recommended for firing after an investigation concluded she failed to disclose an important fact: that her daughter was the longtime girlfriend of a teacher she recommended for a district job.
Superintendent Julie Janssen says Hernandez should be fired because she violated several board policies, including those barring conflicts of interest, using a position for personal gain and conduct unbecoming a board employee.
A nine-page summary of a district investigative report, released late Monday, also suggests Hernandez was not truthful when investigators asked about the relationship between her daughter and Michael Hernandez, who coincidentally shares the same last name.
Janet Hernandez's daughter and Michael Hernandez bought a home together in May 2009. They became engaged in December. They recently married.
But while Janet Hernandez told investigators she knew they were friends, she said she was unsure when they became engaged and suggested she was not aware of her daughter's living arrangements.
That's "highly implausible," wrote Jim Lott, who heads the district office that investigates employee conduct and authored the report after interviewing 14 employees, including both Janet Hernandez and Michael Hernandez.
Pinellas officials ordered the investigation in late September after a St. Petersburg Times story noted the close, personal relationship between Janet Hernandez and Michael Hernandez, whom Janet Hernandez recommended for a job, tied to her department, that he landed at Gibbs High. It was the latest twist in a months-long saga involving Janet Hernandez, who, armed with a glowing recommendation from Janssen, left a teaching job in Manatee County in the fall of 2009 to head the Pinellas office of professional development.
Michael Hernandez was a highly regarded science teacher in Hillsborough last year when he wrote to Janet Hernandez, seeking an administrative job in Pinellas. As head of professional development, Janet Hernandez oversaw the process Pinellas uses to determine who can be an assistant principal.
The Gibbs job soon came into view. Principal Kevin Gordon said the school was desperately in need of someone to mentor new teachers. District officials told investigators the job was not created specifically for Michael Hernandez and Janet Hernandez was not his supervisor.
But Janet Hernandez assisted Michael Hernandez by writing a reference letter for him and then contacting another one of his references on the district's behalf.
Harriet Konstantinidis, who directs the district's human resources department, told investigators that Janet Hernandez used poor judgment in not revealing her relationship with Michael Hernandez. She said she has run into similar situations and "stated the ethical thing for her to do would be to recuse herself and ask a colleague to process the file," the report said.
Janet Hernandez told investigators she made people aware that Michael Hernandez was a friend of her daughter's. But most of those interviewed said they were not aware her daughter was dating him.
Carrie Rivera, a senior human resources specialist who worked under Janet Hernandez, told investigators that Janet Hernandez did tell her the couple was engaged. But Rivera said after she suggested the appearance of a too-cozy relationship, Janet Hernandez told her not to repeat the story.
Rivera said she didn't — until investigators asked.
Records also show Janet Hernandez later signed off on three part-time jobs for Michael Hernandez.
"The fact that (Michael Hernandez) was given additional duty in itself, would not be a problem if it were not for the fact he was engaged to (Janet Hernandez's) daughter," the report said. "(Michael Hernandez) may very well have been the best candidate for these positions but once again the perception is that he was given preferential treatment because of his relationship to (Janet Hernandez).
Last summer, Michael Hernandez was hired as an assistant principal at Northeast High. But district officials told investigators there is no reason to believe he was treated differently than other out-of-county candidates who go through the process for becoming an assistant principal.
He got the Northeast High job "because he was deemed the best candidate by the interview committee" the report said.
Under Janet Hernandez's direction, the professional development department descended into chaos and a "culture of fear," according to a rare staff survey ordered last spring by top district officials. Janssen removed her last summer and recommended she become director of dropout prevention, but the school board rejected the transfer on a 5-2 vote.
Now a program specialist in special education, Janet Hernandez has been on a paid leave since Nov. 16. The school board will consider the recommendation to fire her on Tuesday.
Ron Matus can be reached at matus@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8873.