Broward fires math teacher

Assistant principal found him drunk in class in January

A Broward County teacher lost his job Wednesday after being caught in January at work drunk and passed out.

Administrators at Everglades High in Miramar say a faculty member alerted them Jan. 29 that math teacher Curtis Wiles, 40, appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. An administrator went into his class and found him “reclined in his chair, with both feet on his desk and was asleep while students were in his first-period class,” a district report says.

After Assistant Principal Anthony Smith entered the classroom, Wiles slowly opened his eyes and asked, “Mr. Smith what can I help you with?” the investigation said.

Smith told Wiles he needed to check on a student’s grades and attendance, but Wiles was unable to log into his gradebook, despite three attempts, the report said.

He was sent home in a cab that day and remained on paid leave while the district investigated. That ended Wednesday when the School Board voted to fire him.

Wiles attended Wednes-

day’s meeting with his lawyer and parents to ask for his job back.

“People deserve a second chance. He admittedly has a problem. He has an alcohol problem he’s been fighting for years,” his lawyer, Michael Cornely, told the School Board.

Cornely said Wiles is in an intensive program to “try to rid him of the demons he doesn’t want to have. He’s doesn’t want his whole life ruined.”

School Board member Rosalind Osgood, who has been in recovery for nearly three decades, argued for leniency. She was only School Board member to vote against his termination.

“If I’m struggling with the disease of alcoholism and trying to get help but I have no money and no way of paying for things, that’s setting me up to drink more,” Osgood said.

But Board member Abby Freedman argued, “It’s important for individuals who are behaving in certain fashions to realize there are consequences for their actions. I understand and appreciate certain diseases, but we still have to make safety and security paramount.”

Wiles’ lawyer says he will appeal through a state hearing. The School Board can then decide whether to accept whatever the recommendation is by an administrative law judge.

A district investigation said that Wiles blew four times the legal limit for driving a vehicle when he took a breathalyzer test. But Cornely disputed that, saying “he’d be dead” if his alcohol level was that high. He questioned who administered the test and how it was given. Those are questions likely to be addressed during his appeal.

A day after he was sent home, school officials found a small bottle of vodka in a locked classroom closet, the report says.

Policy forbids employees from being under the influence while at work or bringing alcohol onto a school campus.

Wiles has worked for the school district since 2001 and makes about $50,000.