Pittston, Pennsylvania is located in the northeastern part of the state, between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. The Wilke-Barre Times Leader reports that Pittston Area School District Superintendent Ross Scarantino and the school board have to defend the hiring of a teacher who, it turns out, was charged with a felony count of burglary in 2004.
The newly hired teacher, Kelli Diaz, was indeed charged with burglary then. But those charges were dismissed by a judge in 2005. She completed college and her student teaching. She obtained a teaching certificate. Then she applied for a job with the Pittston School District.
After interviews and a thorough background check, Ms Diaz was hired. Then an anonymous person sent a letter to the newspaper questioning the hire, based on the 2004 charges.
Both Scarantino and the Board have said that, even knowing about the charges now, they still believe that hiring Diaz was a good decision. The question is: “What could they have done differently?”
To understand what happened we need to remember that under the US Constitution, people are innocent until proven guilty. That means that when the charges were dismissed by the judge, Ms. Diaz slate for background check purposes was wiped clean.
Could the District have asked “Have you ever been arrested?” Probably not. Most employment experts would consider that a prohibited question. For a longer list, check out this article with prohibited employment screening questions by Diane Stafford from the Kansas City Star.
The School District has a solid hiring case based upon credentials, achievement and experience. And they have a rock-solid reason for not considering the criminal charges: those charges were dismissed.