By Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
Advantage Academy leaders are changing the school’s hiring policies after its latest principal, Todd Haughey, resigned last week following his fifth DUI charge Oct. 6, in St. Petersburg.
Under its original policy, the school only required applicants to disclose felony and misdemeanor charges of the last seven years. Haughey’s previous four DUI convictions, which occurred in Indiana and Ohio, took place more than seven years ago.
Haughey, Advantage Academy’s fourth principal since it opened in 2009, was taken to jail after he was pulled over at around midnight by St. Petersburg police for turning northbound on a southbound lane on 34th Street.
According to police reports, Haughey had a blank look on his face, his eyes were glassy, and he smelled of alcohol when he spoke.
A DUI officer was called to the parking lot at 3401 Central Ave., and administered a series of tests. Haughey was transported to the Pinellas County jail without incident.
Because Advantage Academy is a charter school, it is responsible for drafting its own policies and applications for employment, and the only role Hillsborough Country Public Schools plays in hiring is to conduct fingerprint processing for a charter school, which is sent to the FBI, according to Linda Cobbe, spokesperson for the district.
Haughey first applied for assistant principal at Advantage Academy in 2010. However, when his application went through the system, only one of his previous DUI convictions surfaced through the FBI check.
“Why the other DUIs didn’t show up, that’s a question for the FBI,” Cobbe said.
The school’s former policy differed from the district’s, which asked every applicant to disclose whether he or she had ever been convicted or pleaded guilty to a criminal offense, excluding a minor traffic violation. The application specifies that a DUI is not considered a minor traffic violation.
Some parents are wondering why Haughey was hired with his past convictions.
“It really makes me wonder what kind of people are around your children,” said a father of a fourth-grader at Advantage Academy.
He spoke only under the condition of anonymity.
Advantage Academy has sent letters home to parents explaining Haughey’s resignation. The letters should arrive in mailboxes this week.
Amy Siegel, a dean at the school, will serve as an interim leader, with the support of Estrelle Strader, vice president of Charter School Associates, and Ivan Hernandez, assistant director of curriculum at Charter School Associates. The school is now searching for a permanent replacement.
“We’re looking for a new principal with all the qualifications to fit the needs of the school,” Mike Strader, president of Charter School Associates, the organization that oversees Advantage Academy and 12 other charter schools, said.
In addition to the DUI convictions, Haughey’s record includes another criminal incident that forced him out of a school. In February 2010, Haughey resigned from an assistant principal post at McNeal Elementary, in Lakewood Ranch. According to Manatee County Sheriff’s Office reports, Haughey and his girlfriend had been out drinking. When they returned to the woman’s condo, an argument turned violent, the report stated.
Haughey grabbed and pushed the woman, who eventually ran out of the home.
After Manatee County Public Schools officials learned of the incident, they ordered Haughey not to have contact with her. He continued to do so.
Manatee district leaders then gave Haughey an opportunity to resign rather than be fired.
Advantage Academy has had four principals since it opened in 2009. Lou Cerreta started the 2011-2012 school year but left for a principal position at a Pasco County school. In October 2011, Haughey took over. William Davis served as principal for the 2009-2010 school year, and Pam Franco served as principal for the 2010-2011 school year and subsequently moved out of the area.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.