This story was updated Thursday evening.
[B]URLINGTON — The Vermont Agency of Education has revoked the license of Burlington High School Guidance Director Mario Macias after a hearing panel found clear and convincing evidence to substantiate three of the seven charges against him.
The panel determined Thursday that Macias had impaired colleagues’ ability to do their jobs, was unaware of the basic functions of the guidance department and had inappropriately engaged a student witness in a discussion about the charges against him.
Several charges were found to be unsubstantiated, including that Macias failed to provide adequate supervision of a standardized test, deliberately falsified information on a student transcript, failed to maintain a professional relationship with a college student that was a substitute teacher and revealed highly confidential information about a student to a third party.
Macias was suspended by the Burlington School District in September after news of the misconduct charges against him came to light. The student-run newspaper at Burlington High School, the BHS Register, broke the news of the charges.
During the hearing, Agency of Education attorney Emily Simmons said Macias failed to uphold the standards the state expects from its educators.
The AOE called a number of Macias’ former co-workers in the guidance department, many of whom had left the high school based on their interactions with him. The counselors painted the picture of a toxic working environment, and said that Macias had bellittled them in front of their colleagues.
Macias and his attorney, Francisco Guzman, argued that the counselors were disgruntled employees who had been unwilling to adapt to a new leader.
The panel made their decision Thursday after receiving recommendations from Adam Powers, the hearing officer for the AOE.
The panel was made up of Chris Pratt, superintendent of the Windham Southwest Supervisory Union school district; Francis Aumand, executive director of the Central Vermont Public Safety Authority; and Dana Peterson, interim superintendent of the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center in Middlebury.
“The decision in this case demonstrates the strengths of Vermont’s licensing investigations process, where protecting our students is balanced against due process and transparency,” Dan French, the secretary of the Agency of Education, said in a statement.
Russ Elek, the spokesman for the school district, said in a statement the district was aware of the AOE ruling.
“At this time, our attorneys are reviewing the ruling and possible next steps. After consulting with District attorneys, BSD’s Board of School Commissioners will make a final decision,” he said.
Guzman did not immediately return a request for comment. School board Chair Clare Wool did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The hearing panel found that Macias’ behavior toward his colleagues demonstrated a pattern of knowing and intentional misconduct. The decision cites testimony from former colleagues Yvette Amblo, Larissa Urban and Simrat Peltier, who said Macias’ behavior was unprofessional, aggressive and left them feeling belittled.
Macias had difficulty enrolling students in online courses and did not seem to understand the systems used to submit mid-year reports to colleges, the panel found. The University of Vermont also stopped placing student teachers at Burlington High School after Macias became director. Using that evidence, the panel ruled that the charge that he was incompetent was substantiated.
The panel also found that Macias solicited the help of a student, who was the subject of one of the charges against him, in his defense against the charge. This caused the student emotional distress, the panel determined.
Macias was cleared on four of the counts against him. The panel ruled that AOE was unable to establish that the contested student transcript included any errors, and that Macias had deliberately falsified any information.
The charge involving Macias’ alleged harassment of the college student who was a substitute teacher at the school was also found unsubstantiated. The panel found that the evidence did not prove that Macias knowingly or intentionally made the student teacher uncomfortable.
He was also cleared on the charge that he revealed confidential information about a student to a third party in a grossly negligent way which placed the student in emotional jeopardy.
The third party was a graduate student placed in the guidance department who had a working relationship with the student and strict confidentiality requirements. Because of this, the panel dismissed the charge against Macias.
The panel also found that the AOE did not provide evidence to substantiate the charge that Macias knowingly or intentionally violated any rules of proctoring the Advanced Placement exam.
The AOE’s investigation into Macias started after two former guidance counselors appeared at a Burlington School Board meeting in August 2017 and said that Macias’ disrespectful behavior led them to resign.
In June 2018, then-BHS principal Tracy Racicot recommended that Macias be renewed as guidance director as he had progressed in his job over the past year. However, a consultant hired by the school district to evaluate Macias recommended that he be fired in August 2018. The district did not act on his recommendation.
The censorship of the story in the BHS Register which broke the news of the charges against Macias sparked a separate First Amendment battle between the newspaper’s student editors and the school’s administration.
The conflict lead the Burlington School Board to form a new student media policy which aligns with a new state law meant to protect the First Amendment rights of student journalists.
