Teacher censured for serious misconduct after conducting business dealings during class time…

A primary school teacher has been censured for serious misconduct after using a school laptop, and other school equipment for his own personal affairs during class time. The teacher managed his family’s cleaning business and even purchased a house while teaching. The teacher also dishonestly altered his car registration to make it appear that it was current despite the registration and warrant having expired two years previously. The vehicle was one that the teacher drove to school regularly and parked in the school grounds.

The teacher had a previous criminal conviction which he did not report to the Teachers Council, and had previously been involved in other disciplinary proceedings with the school.

The Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal held that the teacher’s conduct adversely affected or had the potential to adversely affect the learning of students. The Tribunal also noted that the public has an expectation that teachers will devote their full time and attention to students while teaching. The teacher had thus acted in a way that had the potential to bring the profession into disrepute having devoted a significant amount of time in class to running his business. The teacher also showed a lack of respect for the profession by falsifying official documentation.

The Tribunal ordered that the censure be annotated to the teachers register, and ordered the teacher to pay half of the prosecution costs.