Students Paid Gym Teacher $1 A Day To Skip Gym Class

[matcom]

<snip>

PENSACOLA -- An Escambia County middle school gym teacher let children sit out his class if they paid a $1 bribe daily, netting him perhaps thousands of dollars, officials said Thursday.

Authorities said students paid Terence Braxton, 28, of Atmore, Ala., between September and December. He turned himself in early Thursday at a Pensacola jail on bribery charges and was released on his own recognizance, Escambia sheriff's Sgt. Mike Ward said.

``It's not bad if you can make an extra $100 a day tax free,'' said Ronnie Arnold, spokesman for the Escambia County School District.

Arnold said Ward Middle School principal Nancy Gindl-Perry learned of the scheme from a parent and began her own investigation in December. She then contacted authorities and placed Braxton on administrative leave. Braxton resigned before the school board was scheduled to vote to fire him at a January meeting.

``Just when you think you've seen it all,'' Arnold said.

Between the time Braxton resigned and the arrest warrant was issued earlier this month, Braxton taught some classes as a substitute teacher at the Atmore School District in Alabama, Arnold said. That district removed Braxton from its substitute list after Florida officials notified administrators of Braxton's history, Arnold said.

Mike Ward, spokesman for the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, said six students have pursued charges against Braxton, but many more students are believed to have paid him to get out gym class.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-216gymglass,0,1488249.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

[johnnie]

1. Gym class sucked

I don't know why they make students take it anyway.

[jmowreader]

6. Think of it as the "free lunch" of hygiene

You know how we have this Free Lunch Program in the schools, at least for now, and by feeding the poor kids lunch we make sure they eat food at least once a day?

That's what gym class (and school sports) is for. We make 'em run around and get sweaty, then we make 'em go downstairs and take showers, and by doing so we can be sure that they wash their feet occasionally.

We had this one family in St. Maries who made all of their children play sports every season once they got out of elementary school. We all thought the whole family just had a lot of school spirit. Turns out they had a 20-gallon water heater because their house's wiring wasn't strong enough to support a bigger one (there's no gas in St. Maries), they had nine kids and they were too proud to seek assistance; the littler kids bathed in the tub, the parents bathed in cold water and the bigger kids went out for sports. (Ask me about the National Guard raid on their house sometime...)

[Reverend_Smitty]

2. Not saying I would pay the $1 a day but...

I would certainly fork over the dollar the day they made us run the mile!

[Pacifist Patriot]

14. Amen!

[xmas74]

20. I would have forked it over during tumbling.

I hated floor exercises but loved the actual gymnastics apparatus.

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. Sounds like he gave them a better education than anyone else -

he taught them how to survive in a republican controlled world.

I think anyone who voted republican should applaud that guy.

[ThomCat]

4. Right. It's modern ethics.

The rules/requirements only apply if you don't have money.

I wonder if any of them realize what a good education they were getting.

[Blue_Tires]

21. the next thing will be

kids paying teachers to get out of doing homework/classwork....Don't tell me there aren't some teachers out there dying to supplement their income!

[azmouse]

5. Personally, I applaude the creativity of the students.

:applause:

I hated gym class.

[SteppingRazor]

7. Wish I had him for gym in high school...

I'd have ponied up straight away. Gym class sucked big time. Hell, I was even a pretty good athelete in high school -- I played football through JV before injuries sidelined my glamorous career ( :eyes: ), and I ran one of the fastest 100's on the team. You don't just hate gym because you suck at sports. You hate gym because gym class sucks. There's just no other way to put it.

[XemaSab]

8. There's an ass kicking coming here

for those little shits who ratted him out.

They had to ruin it for everyone else! :grr:

[billyskank]

11. If there is any justice

Good little scheme going if you ask me. Everybody benefited!

[pitohui]

9. would it be legal if he'd paid his taxes?

how did he expect to get away w. this? kids gossip

[Xithras]

13. No, it's bribery.

I'm assuming that the payment was to avoid getting penalized on the grade. Any kid can opt out of PE by simply not participating if they're willing to take the F. This teacher was taking cash in return for falsifying grades. That's bribery, and it's illegal.

[billyskank]

10. What? It's a free market!

That's the genius of capitalism, etc. They should be proud.

[YankeyMCC]

12. Something tells me

the kid who's parents blew the deal will not be popular in the immediate future.

Not saying it's fair, but I'll bet he or she is looked at like the kid that reminds the teacher to assign homework before class ends.

[JVS]

15. Atomic wedgies are clearly going to be applied!

[distantearlywarning]

16. When I was in middle school...

I would have paid $5 a day to be let out of gym class!

These lucky kids, having a teacher like this one...

[Strong Atheist]

17. I would have! Hated gym ... nt.

[Dolomite]

18. Snitches get stitiches.

[LeftyMom]

19. Where was this guy when I was in school?

I would've put his kids through school to get out of running in the heat.

[Oeditpus Rex]

22. Interesting

People blasted the high school principal who sent "large breast week" e-mail to five co-workers, but this guy who obviously shouldn't be teaching gets a line of thumbs-up in this thread — mostly sarcastic ones, I assume, but still.

:popcorn: