Lawton Chiles High School

"Cognosco, Duco, Perficio" - "I learn, I lead, I achieve"

Mr. Joseph L. Burgess, Principal
Ms. Calli Pickens, Assistant Principal
Mr. John P. Swope, Assistant Principal
Mr. Jeff Lightfoot, Assistant Principal
Mr. Michael Lassiter, Dean of Students

Memorandum
TO: Scott Gowan
2922 Foxcroft Dr.
Tallahassee, Fl 32309
FROM: Joseph L. Burgess; Principal
DATE: 10-8-15
SUBJECT: Letter of Reprimand; Violation of School Board Policy 4210 (A and C)
Mr. Gowan,
This letter is to follow up on our meeting from August 13, 17, 20, and most recently from of
October 7, 2015. In each of these meetings we reviewed the complaints and allegations made
against you regarding an incident that took place on the evening of August 12, 2015 at the
Texas Roadhouse Restaurant and previous matters of the program. There were various
complaints that included, harassment, bullying, public humiliation, unfair treatment, emotional
stress, and coercion. To give this level of complaint and allegation its full review, you were
subsequently placed on paid administrative leave. During that time a neutral Equity Officer for
the district conducted an investigation in conjunction with the school, reviewing witness
statements and accounts of all parties involved and presenting those findings to me and the
Superintendent. This process has been thorough and given due diligence the Equity Officer
and me.
After reflecting on this incident and making note of my investigative findings and the separate
notice of final action provided by the Equity Officer, I have determined that it is essential to your
success as an educator that I issue you this letter of reprimand. From my findings and that of
the Equity Officer, you did enter the restaurant to confront the complainant about the
disingenuous communications with you that day about why a scheduled practice had been
missed. Furthermore, proper review of activities beyond sporting activities should have been
given consideration and counsel prior to this incident, thus avoiding this potential situation
altogether.
As our coach, you have a right and duty to review the conduct and actions of student-athletes
left in your charge but your communications with them have a proper venue for that at school. I
find your action on that day to unbecoming of an educator. You are expected to control your
behavior in or out of school, especially when it involves interactions with students. These
encounters must be done with tact and care as you are a professional educator in a position of
public trust.
Any further actions that constitute this level of action by me or other supervisors at Chiles will
result in your immediate removal as a coach for any sport on campus. Please understand, any
subsequent actions would not only have you losing your position as a Coach but jeopardize
your ability to work as an educator in any public institution.

Leon County Schools does not discriminate against any person on the basis of gender, marital status, sexual orientation, race,
religion, national origin, age, or disability.

Lawton Chiles High School

"Cognosco, Duco, Perficio" - "I learn, I lead, I achieve"
Mr. Joseph L. Burgess, Principal
Ms. Calli Pickens, Assistant Principal
Mr. John P. Swope, Assistant Principal
Mr. Jeff Lightfoot, Assistant Principal
Mr. Michael Lassiter, Dean of Students

It will be your responsibility over the next few weeks, through this year and in perpetuity moving
forward to work on improving your behavior, attitude, and program. Your most important role in
this process is focusing on becoming a better leader and learning from this experience as your
ability to coach is a privilege. In understanding that you are role model and you must work to
foster better communication strategies and build relationships. This strategy is not just with the
students but with their parents, your colleagues, and the administration. The administrative staff
and I are committed to providing you the best opportunity for you to be successful in this
process and in your career. In an effort to ensure that you are aware of items requiring
immediate or subsequent implementation on your part, I am emphasizing them as follows:

Refer yourself to the Employee Assistance Program with fidelity. Your focus should be
on interpersonal relationships and effective communication strategies.
Create and maintain a handbook for any team you are Head Coach. The handbook
should cover every area encountered in a sports program. Within those areas there
should be clear expectations for both students and parents. Furthermore there should
be a system of reward, consequence or action plans for student behavior.
A fully staffed coaching unit for any sport you are the Head Coach. My preference is
that you include a female and someone under the age of 30 to make sure there are
supervising parties that athletes may have a better rapport in understanding their needs.
Provide a detailed action-plan to administration to accommodate the requests within this
letter of reprimand to ensure that strategies will be implemented with fidelity.

You are an educator with nearly 30 years of experience and recognized as a Hall of Fame
Coach from your coaching peers at the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA). I have
the highest confidence that you will fulfill the requirements put before you. I also know that you
will grow from this experience while continuing to be a contributing member to this school and
community. This school cannot succeed without everyone working together to achieve our
desired goals.
Sincerely,

Joseph L. Burgess
Principal

Cc: Jackie Pons, Superintendent

Dr. Marvin Henderson, Deputy Superintendent
Dr. Randy Pridgeon, Director of Secondary Schools
Dr. Kathleen Rodgers, Directory of Intervention, Equity and Support Services
Vi Dennis, Director of Personnel
John Hunkiar, Chief of Safety & Security
Dave Clark, Director of Labor Relations
Ricky Bell, County Athletic Director
Mike Eto, Chiles High Athletic Director

Leon County Schools does not discriminate against any person on the basis of gender, marital status, sexual orientation, race,
religion, national origin, age, or disability.