Teachers convicted of sex crimes still licensed

By Emily Richmond

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 | 2 a.m.

It’s been nearly two years since a legislative audit criticized the Nevada Education Department for taking too long to revoke the teaching licenses of criminals.

But officials are still taking up to 21 months to get the job done.

The State Board of Education on Saturday is to consider revoking three licenses, including one held by a man who pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in September 2006. The other two cases stem from criminal convictions last year, in February and August.

Since the legislative audit highlighted the failure to revoke licenses in a timely manner and a lack of policies and procedures to track criminal cases involving educators, the process has been improved, “but we’re still not where we need to be,” Keith Rheault, the state superintendent, said.

The licenses of the three teachers on Saturday’s agenda, for example, were “red flagged” soon after their arrests to alert anyone from another school district or state who might call to check their credentials, Rheault said.

Revocation provides greater protection for the public, however, because once a teacher’s license has been revoked, Nevada forwards the information to a national database used by many school districts.

Staffing shortages are one reason revocations take so long, Rheault said. The department has one employee assigned full time to monitor teachers facing potential discipline.

“If we had the people we needed we wouldn’t fall this far behind,” Rheault said.

Given the recent cuts to K-12 education, Rheault said he wasn’t optimistic that the hiring freeze would be lifted anytime soon.

Rheault plans to ask the 2009 Legislature to make it easier for him to revoke teacher licenses in extreme situations, such as following a criminal conviction in Nevada or another state.

Under the current system, before a teacher’s license can be revoked, the teacher must be notified of the state’s intentions and given the opportunity to request a hearing. This is typically a formality, particularly when a teacher has been convicted of a sex-related offense and is incarcerated.

But Mark Zana, whose license is one of the three up for revocation, is requesting a hearing. Six girls told authorities Zana had improperly touched them while he was their teacher at a Henderson elementary school. Zana was convicted in August of lewdness with a minor under age 14, but acquitted on charges related to three of the students. He was also convicted on six felony counts of possession of child pornography.

Zana must serve at least 17 years before he can be considered for parole.

In a letter to Rheault, Nevada’s superintendent of public instruction, Zana wrote that he was exercising his right to request a hearing because “I am innocent of all charges and plan on proving that when my appeal is granted and I receive a new trial.”

As of Tuesday, Rheault said his office had not been informed whether Zana will be represented by anyone at Saturday’s Board of Education meeting.

Las Vegas attorney Christopher Oram, who is representing Zana in his appeal, said he was unaware of the license revocation proceedings and would not be involved.

The two other men on Saturday’s agenda are Phillip Depaoli, who was a substitute teacher in Lyon County, and Carl Leiner, a former Las Vegas elementary teacher.

Leiner pleaded guilty in February 2007 to coercion for sexual purposes and possession of child pornography and was sentenced to up to three years in state prison. He was released in March after serving about 18 months. A former student told police Leiner had touched her inappropriately several years earlier and then threatened to get her in trouble if she told anyone. Police said they later found child pornography and images depicting molestation on Leiner’s computer.

Depaoli pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in 2006, served 90 days in the county jail and was put on five years’ probation.

In other words, while the state has yet to revoke their teaching licenses, Leiner and Depaoli have had enough time to complete their stints behind bars.