LAKELAND, Fla. – If we’re ever going to curb the growing nightmare of teachers sexually abusing students, school administrators and board members will have to be more accountable.

In far too many cases where children have been hurt, school officials have been indirectly guilty of contributing to the situation, either by looking the other way, failing to respond appropriately, or failing to warn others about potentially dangerous teachers.

Officials at Robinswood Middle School in Orange County, Florida are definitely guilty of the latter.

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In 2008, teacher Jennifer Fichter resigned from Robinswood after administrators suspended her for openly expressing sexual thoughts about a 14-year-old male student.

Fichter allegedly told a co-worker about her feelings for the eighth-grader, and how she dreamed about him. She allegedly hinted to another student about wanting to have sex with the boy, according to a news report from Mail Online.

The co-worker had the courage to report Fichter to school officials, leading to her suspension and resignation.

No legal charges were filed against Fichter, and school officials obviously thought the problem was dealt with.

They allowed Fichter to go job shopping in the area without letting anyone know about the potential danger.

Did they have enough evidence regarding Fichter to pass along to state officials or other school districts? Without a doubt.

According to an article published by Life Site News, “The Orange County Public Schools’ internal investigation (of Fichter) generated a 40-page file before Fichter resigned, but the Florida Department of Education said Orange County did not report the investigation (to the state), leaving Fichter’s record squeaky clean.”

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That turned out to be a tragic error.

Fichter got a job in 2009 at Central Florida Aerospace Academy in Lakeland, where she quickly picked up where she left off.

She recently acknowledged having sex with a 17-year-old student as many as 30 times in her truck. She apparently became pregnant with the student’s child and chose to abort it.

The relationship was discovered by the student’s mother, after she monitored his text messages. The mother informed police, who asked her to confront Fichter in a recorded telephone conversation.

The teacher reportedly was honest with the mother about the relationship and said she wanted to maintain it, the news report said.

Fichter was arrested shortly after the conversation and booked at the Polk County Jail.

Since her arrest, a former student has also accused Fichter of sexual assault.

The teacher is not the only one who deserved to be arrested in this situation. The administrators in the Orange County school district deserve a great deal of blame for letting the teacher seek employment without issuing a word of warning.

There should be a law in every state that makes it mandatory for school administrators to be honest with state officials, or at least officials from other districts, about former teachers who pose a danger.

School administrators should have the discretion to tell their peers they may be hiring a sexual predator, without fear of legal reprisal.

And frankly, in a case like this, we would like to believe that conscience would play a role, regardless of what the law says in any particular state.

Fichter’s former employers must have known that she retained her teaching certificate, and would probably apply for another job somewhere in the vicinity.

If they cared about the safety of children in other schools, they would have found a way to get the word out about Fichter.

Clearly that didn’t happen, probably because school administrators felt like the problem was no longer theirs.

That’s an inexcusable attitude for anyone who works with children.

Irrational school board in Georgia

If school administrators are to be held accountable for their actions (or lack of action) when it comes to sexual assault, it will have to start at the school board level.

Board members are the ultimate authority in their districts, and are ultimately responsible for the conduct of all employees.

If they allow administrators to sweep sexual abuse under the rug, they are just as guilty.

Unfortunately some school boards lack the common sense to realize that.

A very good example is the McIntosh County school board in Georgia.

A teacher in that district, Lori Quiqley, was recently arrested and charged with having sex with three male students – twice on school property and once in a Waffle House parking lot.

But that wasn’t the end of the story. A few weeks ago school Superintendent Tina Kirby, Assistant Superintendent Larry Day and high school Principal Terrance Haywood were all arrested for failing to report Quigley’s actions to authorities.

Haywood was also charged with making a false statement to authorities, which is a felony.

News accounts we’ve seen do not explain how the three administrators found out about Quigley’s misconduct, or why they failed to report it.

But the community has been in an uproar, with the majority of residents clearly wanting the three administrators relieved of their duties.

So how did the school board members react? First they rejected a motion to suspend the administrators, then rejected a motion to fire them.

So all three were allowed to return to work, as if nothing unusual had happened. They have been charged with covering up a serious crime against students, but were welcomed back with open arms.

“We need to clean house, and we need to make this a perfect, safe place for our children,” said angry resident Sandra McDonald during a packed school board meeting last week, according to a report from WTOC.com.

“I’m frustrated, and I’m upset and I’m angry, too, but as you all know, it takes a three-person vote here,” said school board member Sonja Lumley, who voted to fire the administrators.

It’s possible to defend the board for postponing a final termination decision. Perhaps someone in the group is actually innocent, and that many come out in court.

But if this school board is on the ball, it already has its own investigation underway, so it can make its own long-term decision about the three administrators.

One can be guilty enough to be unfit for duty without being convicted in a court of law.

But suspensions for all three, with or without pay, should have been a no-brainer, at least until more answers are available.

If they are guilty as charged, these three can no longer be entrusted with the safety of children.

Since there’s no way to know at this point, a responsible school board would err on the side of safety.