OXNARD, Calif.—The stakes are so high in the administrative hearing to decide whether Stacie Halas will be allowed to keep her job as a middle school science teacher that it is taking up a full week of testimony. Felony trials often take less time in court. For the Oxnard School District, a verdict in Halas' favor undermines the decision to fire Halas, which explains why the county has mounted such a spirited prosecution and taken such a hard line with Halas. For Halas, of course, losing would mean the end of her current career, which by all accounts she excelled at.
Today, in fact, her mother took the stand before the panel of administrative judges to plead for her daughter's job and try to counter prior testimony from school officials who portrayed Halas as a kind of serial liar when confronted with her past work in adult.
"I think she's put her heart and soul into that job," Laura Halas told the judges.
Other educators also testified on behalf of the younger Halas, reported the Ventura County Star, which cited Greg Packham, who taught at Haydock Intermediate, the same school Halas was fired from. He testified that "lies in the past should not be excused but what matter most are present and future actions," according to the paper.
"We've seen people, in their personal life, come in the fray. I can imagine why she would have been terrified. Does it excuse dishonesty? No," said Packham. "You may have been a poor student in the past. You may have made poor decisions in the past. As a teacher, I want to see what you're going to do now, where you're going to go. I wanna see what direction you're going to take your life. And I think this is one of those teachable moments."
In addition to their claim that Halas' firing was justified by her alleged lies, the school district is also contending that the cat is out of the bag as far as Hals is concerned, and returning her to the classroom will only result in more chaos at whatever school she is assigned to teach at. The counter argument, of course, is that any similar indiscretion by a teacher in their past once found out would result in the same fate, essentially placing a lifetime litmus test of morality on anyone who wants to teach any subject.
Halas herself is expected to take the stand next, and it is hard to think that her testimony and demeanor in giving it will not be the true test in determining the outcome of this administrative hearing that feels more like a life-and-death trial.
