Why do SLO County teachers suspected of misconduct walk away with cash settlements?

Talk about rubbing salt in taxpayers’ wounds.

A Morro Bay High School auto shop teacher allegedly misuses funds .... warnings from the bookkeeper in charge of ASB accounts and a vice principal are ignored by the school principal ... and when the teacher’s misdeeds are finally revealed, he’s allowed to walk away with a $48,000 settlement?

That’s the gist of it, and if you think it sounds like rewarding bad behavior, you’re right.

If you wonder why the teacher wasn’t fired and sent on his way — without a single dime — you’d be justified.

But in this case, at least the accused teacher, James Bueno, won’t be able to quietly move on to another school district in some other town and repeat his mistakes.

The settlement signed by the San Luis Coastal Unified School District did not include a nondisclosure clause, according to district Superintendent Eric Prater.

“Perhaps most important, we reported Mr. Bueno to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, who will determine whether to take adverse action against his credential, such as a revocation or suspension. We have also presented this matter to law enforcement to evaluate whether a crime was committed. Please note that law enforcement has resources that are not available to a public school district,” Prater said via email to The Tribune.

The district did have the option of terminating him, but that’s an expensive and iffy process.

“A teacher can only be terminated for cause pursuant to the administrative process contained in the Education Code,” Prater wrote. “The administrative process can be costly, and termination is not guaranteed. This was our primary concern when considering options.”

Still, it’s galling that Bueno was able to leave with $48,000 after allegedly misappropriating who-knows-how-much over his six-year tenure as the auto shop teacher. He’s the one who should be shelling out settlement money to reimburse the school — not vice versa.

What investigation revealed

Among the allegations detailed in an investigative report obtained by The Tribune:

• Bueno sold used vehicles that had been donated to the school and then repaired by his students, but neglected to deposit the proceeds into the auto shop bank account.
• He gave one of the repaired cars to his mother. (Under terms of the settlement, he paid the district $2,000 in compensation for that car, which reduced his award from $50,000 to $48,000.)
• He purchased vehicle parts, including parts for his personal vehicles, without prior budget approval — an issue raised in annual ASB independent audits.
• He was in charge of selling 1,000 T-shirts as a fundraiser, but there’s no record of the proceeds being deposited in a school account.

There were other irregularities.

People who donated vehicles to the program never got documentation of their gifts.

Investigators found vehicle titles and registrations on Bueno’s desk — “not secured to prevent access or loss.”

And a Lamborghini that was not district property was stored in the auto shop.

“This presents a potential liability for MBHS regarding insurance claims, payment of deductibles, etc., should the vehicle be damaged or stolen,” the report says.

Lack of training to blame?

It sounds like one big hot mess, and it’s amazing that it went on as long as it did and in spite of problems turned up in audits.

And it might not have been made public at all, if not for a tipster and the dogged, follow-up reporting by Tribune reporter Mackenzie Shuman, who obtained documents through a Public Records Act request and spent hours interviewing school district officials and employees.

Bueno told Shuman that every dollar made went “back into the shop,” and he blamed what happened on a lack of training in record-keeping.

The principal who failed to act on concerns, Kyle Pruitt, declined to talk to The Tribune, though he admitted to investigators “that he had made a lot of mistakes managing this situation.”

Pruitt will transfer to a teaching position in July.

Bueno resigned effected Nov. 30.

Under the circumstances, we get why the district decided to settle rather than fight, but this is a situation that never should have gotten so out of control in the first place. We hope it never will again.

It does sound like the program is now on the right track. A new shop teacher has been hired at Morro Bay High, and safeguards are being put in place.

You know, basic things like making checks out to a school account, rather than to an individual, and filling out purchase order requests.

That takes care of the immediate issue.

But the bigger question is how school districts — or any public agency, for that matter — should deal with employees suspected of serious wrongdoing.

Too often, districts have caved and not only offered a cash settlement, but also agreed to a nondisclosure clause, creating a situation where a toxic employee could simply move to another area and get a fresh start at a new school.

It’s happened in cases far more serious than this one; look at the Nipomo High girls wrestling coach who was accused of molesting members of the team.

The Lucia Mar Unified School District gave him $32,000 in severance pay, along with a written guarantee that the district would provide only “dates of employment, position held, and salary information” if contacted by a potential employer in the future.

In the current case, it’s disappointing that the San Luis Coastal District had to pay $48,000 to rid itself of an employee accused of mishandling funds. And it shows a stunning lack of leadership for a school principal to ignore problems repeatedly brought to his attention.

But San Luis Coastal ultimately did the right thing in reporting Bueno to police and to teacher credentialing.

When there’s credible evidence of serious wrong doing — especially crimes against children — no way should districts allow teachers to quietly skate away, ever, even if it means a court fight.

Passing a problem employee on to another school district is unconscionable.

Keeping kids safe and protecting public resources now and in the future should always be top priorities — even when the immediate price is high.