BYRON TOWNSHIP, Mich. - A Byron Center Public Schools special education teacher will receive $106,000 in a settlement agreement with the school district, according to The Grand Rapids Press.
The teacher, Timothy Grider, was convicted of lewd and lascivious conduct in a case involving a prostitute, The Press reported. The district also reported that the teacher admitted to drinking vodka on school grounds after parent-teacher conferences.
Because of the time and uncertainty involved in trying to revoke his tenure, the district instead pursued a resignation agreement, The Press reported.
Grider has been on administrative leave since March and submitted a letter of resignation. The $106,000 is the value of his salary and benefits, according to The Press. The settlement agreement requires the district to write a letter of reference to any non-school prospective employer on the teacher's behalf, and to provide the disciplinary report to any prospective school employers, the report said.
In an unrelated case, West Ottawa Public Schools won its case to revoke the tenure of a science teacher, but paid the teacher's salary and benefits while the case was heard, totaling $89,000, as well as $84,000 in legal fees, The Press reported in a separate article. The teacher in that case was found to have given test answers to students.
SOURCES:
The Grand Rapids Press, "Byron Center settles with teacher
for $73,651 plus benefits after incident with prostitute," Oct. 16, 2009
The Grand Rapids Press, "Plenty of legal bills for West Michigan school districts," Oct. 16, 2009
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Reforming Teacher Tenure
Policies," June 30, 2008
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