Heath Miller, Band Teacher Accused of Sexually Assaulting Students, Released on Bond

Categories: Crime, Education
Health Miller.jpg
PBSO
Miller's trial is scheduled for March.
For nearly three years, Heath Miller sat in jail without facing a jury. In April 2009, the once-popular band teacher at H.L. Watkins Middle School in Palm Beach Gardens was charged with sexually assaulting four of his eighth-grade, female students. His arrest came as a shock to many in the community. Just months earlier, he had been hailed as a hero for shooting and killing a masked intruder who broke into his Wellington home.

Miller, 37, was a favored son of Belle Glade, his mom a former mayor, his dad the owner of a funeral home. The allegations that he molested teenaged girls in his band room stood in stark contrast to the reputation he had built as a charismatic teacher and mentor to kids. He pleaded not guilty to felony charges of sexual activity with a child, lewd and lascivious molestation, and tampering with evidence.

Initially, Miller was denied bail, partly because he was accused of tampering with More >>

Mavericks Assistant Principal Was Accused, and Cleared, of Kissing Former Student at Denny's

Thumbnail image for Palm Springs small.jpg
maverickshigh.com
Brandon works at Mavericks in Palm Springs.
On April 23, 2011, months before she was hired as assistant principal at the Mavericks High charter school in Palm Springs, Tisa Brandon was videotaped hanging out with teenagers at Denny's in the wee hours of a Saturday morning.

At the time, Brandon was dean of Liberty High School in Kissimmee. Three students spotted her in a booth at Denny's around 1:30 a.m., sitting with a former student who had recently withdrawn from Liberty because he was about to be expelled. According to statements the witnesses gave the Osceola County school district, Brandon and the ex-student were kissing.
More >>

Five Supreme Court Cases That Say Florida's Prayer in Schools Bill Is Bunk

harold-burton.jpg
Supreme Court Justice Wiley Blount Rutledge, knockin' down anti-disestablishmentarians back in the day.
Imagine you're at a high school pep rally: The football players are in their jerseys, the cheerleaders are yelling, and the students are getting ready for the school spirit contest. But first, a student is invited to the microphone to give an inspirational message.

"Let us pray," he says. Some of the students bow their heads. "Dear Lord, we thank you for the gift of another school year. Please protect these students, and these teachers, and this school, as we do our best to serve you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen."

At a private school, this wouldn't be particularly strange -- but a bill passed by the Florida Senate last Wednesday would allow prayers like this in public schools throughout the state, from kindergarten up through the 12th grade.
More >>

Florida Senate Passes Bill Allowing Prayer in Schools; Vote Isn't Even Close

gary-siplin.jpg
This government endorsement of religion brought to you by state Sen. Gary Siplin.
The state Senate passed SB 98 this afternoon by a 31-8 margin, paving the way for public school districts to allow student prayer in school. The bill would allow "student volunteers to deliver inspirational messages, including but not limited to, prayers of invocation or benediction," according to a legislative summary from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Legislators appear to have attempted to get around the giant mounds of precedent against this sort of thing by adding verbiage to the text of the bill that simply allows students to deliver an "inspirational message" and then prohibits school officials from controlling the content of the message.

To review: Prayer at mandatory public school events is OK, so long as a grownup isn't the one doing it.
More >>

Broward County Has Three of Florida's Eight Lowest-Scoring Middle Schools

fl-doe.jpg
​The Sun Sentinel had a cheerful story today about the state's new education rankings -- "Broward Schools land at top of state rankings," read the online headline of the story, which notes that the county has three high schools in the top 20.

But what that story omits is that the county is also home to some of the state's worst-ranked schools: Of 583 Florida middle schools, for example, the county is home to numbers 576, 581, and 583. Broward Community Charter Middle School had the lowest standardized test scores in the state in the 2010-11 school year and was the only school on the list to receive a failing grade two years in a row.
More >>

Mavericks High Assistant Principal Was Investigated for Misconduct in Kissimmee

Thumbnail image for Palm Springs small.jpg
maverickshigh.com
Brandon was hired at Mavericks High in Palm Springs.
Here's the leadership team at Mavericks High School in Palm Springs: Principal Thomas Lockett is not certified to teach in Florida and has a background in pharmaceutical sales. Assistant Principal Tisa Brandon came to Palm Springs from the Osceola County School District, where she was investigated for alleged "unethical behavior" involving a student.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Mavericks charter schools.

Brandon was dean of exceptional student education at a high school in More >>

Delores Brown Arrested, Charged With Stealing $25,000 of Elementary School Furniture for Her Funeral Home

pile-of-chairs.jpg
Our best guess as to what Delores Brown's funeral home looked like.
​The Palm Beach County School District is having a rough year. Since last June, it fired one janitor when he was found naked in an orchestra closet, investigated another janitor who was discovered urinating in a supply room, had a teacher quit after being busted sleeping with a student, and fired a principal after she was accused of helping a friend steal thousands of dollars' worth of school furniture.

The principal, Plumosa School of the Arts' Priscilla Maloney, was arrested earlier this month and charged with jacking the furniture, money, a laptop, and a saxophone, according to the Palm Beach Post. Now, former Palm Beach schools area director Delores Brown has been arrested and charged with grand theft for allegedly taking the furniture and putting it in her funeral home.

According to court documents, the 52-year-old Brown simply drove a moving truck to 
More >>

Leon County School Board Approves New Mavericks High School

Thumbnail image for mavericks south miami.jpg
maverickshigh.com
Mavericks High in Homestead.
Perhaps the people in Tallahassee don't read much on the interwebs. Or maybe they don't mind entrusting their kids' education to a team of real estate developers. Whatever the reason, the Leon County School Board has decided to approve a new Mavericks High charter school.

Mavericks in Education Florida is a West Palm Beach-based, for-profit charter school chain that promises to help at-risk kids graduate. But in reality, most Mavericks schools graduate less than 15 percent of eligible students. They score "incomplete" on state report cards, because so few students are taking the FCAT. Plus, two whistleblower lawsuits filed in Miami allege Mavericks inflates attendance numbers and inaccurately reports grades. (Read the New Times feature story on Mavericks here.)
More >>

Principal at Mavericks High in Palm Springs Not Certified to Teach in Florida

Palm Springs small.jpg
maverickshigh.com
Mavericks High in Palm Springs.
The principal of the Mavericks High charter school in Palm Springs is not certified to teach in Florida, according to the State Department of Education.

Thomas Lockett runs a school that serves roughly 500 at-risk students and promises to help them earn enough credits to graduate. Yet he does not have a teaching certificate or list any teaching experience on his LinkedIn online résumé. Prior to joining Mavericks last year, he was an account executive for home health-care and pharmaceutical companies. More >>

Mavericks High Charter Schools Make News in New Orleans

Thumbnail image for mavericks south miami.jpg
maverickshigh.com
Mavericks makes news in the Big Easy.
Florida has a habit of exporting its public policies to other states, where they spread like cold sores on a drunken Himmarshee night. Grading schools and teachers based on test scores, expanding vouchers and charters schools -- the nation has former Gov. Jeb Bush to thank for that.

Now, the governor of Louisiana wants to pass a law modeled after Florida's "charter school-in-the- workplace" initiative, in which private businesses can start schools to serve the children of their employees. In South Florida,More >>
Sign up for free stuff, news info & more!

Tools

General

Services

Find A Coupon

Popular Coupons

  • Thumbnail

    10% OFF

    Big D's Dead Head & Gift Shop
    896 N. Federal Highway
    Pompano Beach, FL 33062
  • Thumbnail

    Testosterone Therapy!

    Royal Men's Medical Center
    1430 S Federal Highway, Suite 303
    Deerfield, FL 33441