Suncoast Pasco News
Pasco Teacher Fired Month Ago Over Of 'Concerns'
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Published: March 25, 2008
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LAND O' LAKES - A substitute teacher arrested this week on a charge of having sex with a 17-year-old Mitchell High School student was fired nearly a month ago when Pasco County School District officials first learned of the accusations against her.
Lisa Robyn Marinelli
Lisa Robyn Marinelli, 40, who was arrested Monday on a charge of unlawful sex with a minor, was fired Feb. 29, records show.
The dismissal letter in her personnel file said she failed to return a call from a human resources supervisor who was trying to contact her about the "serious concerns" about her professional behavior.
"We will no longer be using your services," the letter concluded.
Mitchell Principal Ric Mellin prepared a letter Tuesday to send to parents to let them know that "inappropriate conduct" by a substitute teacher had been reported to law enforcement. He did not specify the allegations against Marinelli.
Assistant Superintendent Renalia DuBose said the district couldn't notify parents about the situation sooner because the Pasco County Sheriff's Office was the lead agency on the investigation and the district had to wait for an arrest.
"We certainly could not get ahead of the law enforcement investigation," DuBose said.
Mellin said in the letter that he talked to the Mitchell High staff in a Tuesday morning meeting and also spoke about the situation to students through the school's closed circuit television system.
"I believe it is important for our students to hear directly from me that we are committed to providing a safe and secure learning environment for them," Mellin wrote. "I also want our students to be aware that we have trained staff members available for counseling."
Marinelli did most of her substitute teaching at Mitchell High, though she also put in a couple of days at Seven Springs Middle, DuBose said.
DuBose said the district has safeguards to try to protect students and notifies law enforcement when there are suspicions about a staff member.
Marinelli was fingerprinted on Aug. 14, 2007, and the resulting criminal background check showed nothing, DuBose said.
"We wish we had a system foolproof enough to know what a person might do five years from now or 10 years from now," she said. "We'll be diligent. If we suspect something, we report it to law enforcement officials."
Marinelli took the district's substitute teacher training on Aug. 23 and 24, DuBose said. During that training, substitutes are told not to touch students, flirt with them or discuss personal matters with them.
Those instructions also are included in a handbook substitute teacher's receive.
"It's unfortunate because we have thousands of teachers doing a good job every day," DuBose said. "It's unfortunate when a single act causes a disparaging eye to be cast upon the profession."
The sheriff's office began its investigation after the student's father told investigators that he saw his son getting out of Marinelli's car on Feb. 27, sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said.
The father said the boy was "holding his pants together and putting them back in place," Doll said.
"The victim's father provided documents of hundreds of cell phone calls, and there were about 35 text messages still on the victim's cell phone," Doll said. "One of the messages asks, 'How about a quickie 2morrow afternoon?'
"Other messages invite the victim to her home 'because real men only need 20 minutes,'" he said.
The boy showed investigators several locations where he said he had sex with Marinelli in her vehicle, Doll said. Under Florida law, a 17-year-old cannot consent to sex with a person 24 and older.
Reporter Geoff Fox contributed to this report. Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at (813) 948-4218 or rblair@tampatrib.com.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( ABBY_914 ) on March 27, 2008 at 12:31 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
If she was FIRED a month ago...why are Mitchell Parents finding out about this NOW???
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