Report: Math Teacher Let Students Buy Grades

Students, tests and cash were the perfect variables to fatten high school math teacher Jeff Spires’ wallet, officials said, but administrators pulled the plug on him after several students brought his alleged pay-for-grades scheme to their attention.
Spires, who taught at Charlotte County High School in Charlotte County, Fla., was suspended without pay on Oct. 14 and resigned two weeks later.
He had been a teacher in the district since 2002 and told school officials he changed grades for money because he was having financial trouble amid a bankruptcy, arrests and jail time.
“Maybe I see the kids are as desperate as I am,” he told the school’s investigators.
According to a report issued by the school and shared by ABC affiliate WZVN in Fort Myers, Fla., Spires admitted that “he had taken money from two different math students in exchange for improving their grades in math class.”
All students had to do was staple the cash to the test or quiz they wanted Spires to amend, according to the report.
One unidentified junior reported paying the teacher as much as $40 at a time on two separate occasions in exchange for improving a couple of grades on his quizzes and tests. The student ended the quarter with a B, when he actually deserved a C for his work, the school found.
A senior also paid $15 and $30 for his grade to be improved on a quiz, officials found. However, the money did not impact his quarter grade.
“This is one of the most disturbing events I’ve seen in my 40 years,” Douglas Whittaker, Charlotte County Public Schools superintendent, told WZVN.
School officials reported that Spires did, however, turn down an offer of $200 from a senior to change her quarter grade from a B to an A, because the grades had already been recorded.

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What’s the problem? This is a good life lesson for the kids. Because in the real world, you can do the same thing if you’ve got the cash.
Posted by: WorkingClass | November 17, 2011, 8:05 am 8:05 am
Hey he was just teaching these kids an important fact of live, you only need to play the game to get what you want these days, you don’t have to earn it anymore.
Posted by: Maxwell | November 17, 2011, 8:09 am 8:09 am
Let me guess, the Teachers Union Lawyer will now represent this guy and attempt to not have him fired.
Posted by: JP | November 17, 2011, 8:15 am 8:15 am
I flunked the spelling test. Can I buy a vowel?
Posted by: Jim | November 17, 2011, 8:23 am 8:23 am
Another Lieral Democrat.
Posted by: daniel | November 17, 2011, 8:29 am 8:29 am
If anyone thinks this is an isolated incident and a rarity,think again. This is commonplace across America and if not by actually paying of cash it is done by bringing in extra school supplies to buy a grade.
Posted by: Wilson | November 17, 2011, 8:57 am 8:57 am
This is not an isolated incidence in Florida. I have 3 kids, and I have run into variations of this same pay-to-play scam run by teachers and their administrators. In one case, it closely matched this story and you could pay cash ($10, $15, $20, and etc) to improve a homework, quiz, or test grade (Windy Ridge – Orlando). In other cases, you had to bring in objects of value to improve your grades. An indirect method of pay-to-play at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando was a teacher running a drink and food store out of a cabinet (Hint, you by stuff from me and line my pockets with the profit and this will help to improve your grade. Wink! Wink! Wink!). The latest one that angers me greatly at Windy Ridge in Orlando is almost bi-weekly e-mails with a lot of winks requesting gift cards for Macy’s, Outback Steak Restaurant, Books, Movies, and numerous other items for various teachers and staff on their birthdays.
Posted by: Marshall Carroll | November 17, 2011, 9:01 am 9:01 am
I had a narcissistic f-word of a teacher who would give a passing grade if the student could massage him into a state of perceived magnanimousness with stories of how they just couldn’t do it with a sob story about their obstacles and lots of begging. Now if there wasn’t enough humility/begging/self-pity then you didn’t earn it ;-) (He really didn’t know how to handle someone who had trouble, over-came it without self-pity, and succeeded anyway. )
Thank you Sacramento City Unified School district; if there’s one thing I learned, it’s that I would never put a child I don’t like into a public school, let alone one I love & cherish. Also, that you can get away with anything except sometimes molesting a child and still get to keep your unionized school teaching job! Woohoooo! Winning!
Posted by: Oly | November 17, 2011, 9:02 am 9:02 am
“Another Lieral Democrat.” ~~~~~~ Charlotte County is a predominantly RED county, with far more people registered Republican than Democrat.
“Let me guess, the Teachers Union Lawyer will now represent this guy and attempt to not have him fired.” ~~~~~~~~ He’s a FORMER Charlotte County High School math teacher already, and you’d know this if you’d been a careful reader.
Posted by: Minorkey1 | November 17, 2011, 9:15 am 9:15 am
Hey, the kids were learning our way! Money, money, money will buy you anything and everything. See, you kiddos are the future of the GOP! Remember, screw voting for it; nobody wants to vote, you just buy it or better yet, you take it! Happiness and success is weighed by $$$$$$! Remember, don’t be like those poor SOBs who only net 100k/yr or less and think we in the GOP respect them and that we desperately need their votes – Not! For those people, you are not even worthy of licking the bottom of my boots. Truth be told, if you don’t net over 500k/yr, you don’t need to be in the true GOP – we don’t need your poor white trash asses.
Posted by: Mike | November 17, 2011, 9:19 am 9:19 am
I’m pretty sure, that’s how Barack Obama got through College.
Posted by: Joyce Behar | November 17, 2011, 9:23 am 9:23 am
He should be jailed for fraud, but I expect the union will cover for him.
Posted by: jnsesq | November 17, 2011, 9:25 am 9:25 am
“Another Lieral Democrat” Now thats priceless. What to know why it’s wrong to vote for the republican party? Re-read Daniel’s post. Do you really want THAT running your country?
Posted by: Bryan | November 17, 2011, 9:29 am 9:29 am
Why not?
All Solyndra had to do was to staple $10K campaign donations to loan applications and the Obama Regime gave $500,000,000 in return.
Posted by: Truth Detector | November 17, 2011, 9:33 am 9:33 am
This is just more proof that our society is becoming more shameful at an even earlier age. Between parents that wanted their kids to have it better than they did and parents that don’t care at all, many of our nations youth don’t understand hard work. BTW, how does this relate to any political party?
Posted by: ocmarsha | November 17, 2011, 9:35 am 9:35 am
“…Now thats priceless. What [sic] to know why it’s wrong to vote for the [Democrat] party?”
POSTED BY: BRYAN | NOVEMBER 17, 2011, 9:29 AM 9:29 AM
Priceless, indeed!!! Feasting on the irony, I am.
Re-read Bryan’s post. THAT illiterate hyprocisy is what’s ruining your country…
Posted by: Truth Detector | November 17, 2011, 9:41 am 9:41 am
Maxwell | November 17, 2011, 8:09 am wrote: “Let me guess, the Teachers Union Lawyer will now represent this guy and attempt to not have him fired.”
==========================================
What unfair mud-slinging! That certainly won’t occur. The main job of teachers union lawyers is to keep teachers from being the scapegoats for the employer’s mistakes. For example, in my county they changed the scheduling so that AP Physics students effectively had a month’s less worth of Physics during the year before taking the national AP tests. We physics teachers pointed out to the new superintendent that would lower AP test results. He said that was an unfortunate aspect to which the AP teachers would NOT be held accountable. The next year the superintendent ordered an investigation of the physics teachers to find out why AP test results decreased. He wanted to make sure it was labeled OUR fault, not HIS. THAT is a typical example of why teachers need a union and a lawyer. It took two years to do it, but the superintendent was eventually fired after he and the Board of Ed could no longer keep that and similar rotten deeds covered up.
Posted by: The_Mick | November 17, 2011, 9:53 am 9:53 am
The teacher was dealing with arrests? Jail time??? And they hired him in the first place? Of course this is much less severe than teachers having sex with students
Posted by: dgethgsa mlml | November 17, 2011, 9:55 am 9:55 am
Not much different from my college computer professor who awarded extra points on the final to anyone who attended a lecture by her favorite left-wing radical. They wanted to boost the seeming interest in the radical, who wanted an appointment at the university. The lecture had nothing to do with computer science.
Posted by: Bruce Small | November 17, 2011, 10:05 am 10:05 am
@ OCMARSHA :
Absolutely Priceless!!
“THAT illiterate hyprocisy is what’s ruining your country”
I couldn’t of said it better myself! Well played, my friend, well played!!
Posted by: Lina | November 17, 2011, 10:14 am 10:14 am
For those of you stating that the Union will keep him from being fired, you obviously did not read the part of the article that reports he already resigned! I found that to be a pretty important detail. That is a letter grade off for those of you who got it wrong. Unless you want to slide me some cash?
Posted by: Julie | November 17, 2011, 10:17 am 10:17 am
There’s something wrong with buying your way through life instead of working for it? Oh yeah, that’s the liberal way.
Posted by: pitter43 | November 17, 2011, 10:18 am 10:18 am
This is due to the sodomites and abortionists taking control of the gubermint skewels.
Posted by: Juergensen | November 17, 2011, 10:22 am 10:22 am
“THAT illiterate hyprocisy is what’s ruining your country”
I couldn’t of said it better myself! Well played, my friend, well played!!
Did you perhaps mean ” I couldn’t HAVE said it better myself” ??? Looks like each person trying to slam another’s illiteracy makes an error of their own. Too funny.
Posted by: Minorkey1 | November 17, 2011, 10:23 am 10:23 am
Lol. I love the first comment. So true sadly.
Posted by: Joe | November 17, 2011, 10:51 am 10:51 am
Why is it that no matter what the subject someone has to start yammering on about liberals as the root of all evil? I have never heard liberals say they wants to have everything handed to them on a silver platter without working for it nor have I ever heard them say they wants to buy their way through life without working for it. That’s just conservative nonsense and it has nothign to do with this article.
Posted by: EarlGrayHpt | November 17, 2011, 10:55 am 10:55 am
I got a 3.0 out of 4.0 for grades as a math major in college and couldn’t find a job except for teaching.
Let them buy the grades. Just as well off for having done so.
Posted by: Todd | November 17, 2011, 11:48 am 11:48 am
When I saw a senior in H.S., we were required to take a class iin government to graduate. Well, I think I attended ’bout half dozen times. The Red Cross was having a blood drive at the school, and he said anybody who gave blood would get a passing grade. I’m pretty sure I was first in line to signup! And I got a cookie and a cup of juice to boot!
Posted by: Cheeves | November 17, 2011, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm
So…This guy was having financial, etc. difficulties and from the article it sounds like he might have collected $150 bucks from this scheme?!?! That’ll sure go a long way towards digging him out of bankruptcy!! Seems like he sold his soul for very little. Oh, wait….Maybe he’s such a loser that $150 is overpayment for his soul!!!
Posted by: Lee | November 17, 2011, 12:09 pm 12:09 pm
And he put in two or three years before “earning” tenure?
Posted by: s | November 17, 2011, 12:25 pm 12:25 pm
Whatever happened to all those teachers and school principals that were having GRADE CHANGING parties to “”IMPROVE”" their students grades and got caught a few years back ??? Did even one of them get fired – or did they all get raises and MORE teacher of the year awards ???? Follow-up
anyone.
Posted by: katia swartz | November 17, 2011, 12:36 pm 12:36 pm
Politicians, judges, corporate executives, and banksters get kickbacks and payoffs all day long and not a peep from the sheep, but some $30,000 a year school teacher wants a few bucks for a passing grade and folks come out of the woodwork pretending to be offended. Paying for good grades is how the real world works. You want something done, you do “favors” for the big boys. The banksters lecture you all day long from their ivory towers about how lazy and greedy we are for wanting social services that our tax dollars were supposed to pay for. Meanwhile, banksters have no dirt under their nails and get their potbellies chauffeured around and they’re telling us about work and lazy. People need to wake up. We hang the petty thieves and appoint the best ones to public office and corporate executive positions. This teacher is just imitating the big banks, the military industrial complex and big auto corporations but on a much smaller scale so the sheeple with low IQs can actually comprehend it. That’s all there is to see here.
Posted by: Jim | November 17, 2011, 12:44 pm 12:44 pm
There’s something wrong with buying your way through life instead of working for it? Oh yeah, that’s the liberal way. Posted by: pitter43 | November 17, 2011, 10:18 am………………….payoffs are not partisan, nor political. They’re simply unethical, regardless of which side of the aisle upon which you sit. Your statement is pointedly ridiculous.
Posted by: Taintedbylies | November 17, 2011, 12:49 pm 12:49 pm
There’s something wrong with buying your way through life instead of working for it? Oh yeah, that’s the liberal way.
Posted by: pitter43 | November 17, 2011, 10:18 am.
LOL! So these kids are Liberals because they did this? But wait a minute, I thought the Conservative narrative on Liberals is we’re all too dumb and lazy to even work, let alone have any money. Seems to me the ones ‘buying their way through life’ are on the Right…….
Posted by: Searambler | November 17, 2011, 12:50 pm 12:50 pm
Judge him all you want, If i was one of his students, I woulda been first in line. The ones who busted him had to be the “natural” A+’ers or the ones with no money. buncha nerds
Posted by: Fletch | November 17, 2011, 1:11 pm 1:11 pm
This is just the tip of the iceberg. I wish we had real reporters who would, for just one example, expose the embezzlement of school funds by teachers and administrators. I know for a fact that this goes on to the tune of 5 and 6 figures in these cases.
When we have an amoral leftist group in charge of teaching our children, well, what did you expect would happen?…… Paterno should fry. Just think of how many other democrats walked in on that couch and DIDN’T report it?
Posted by: Massimo Deportado | November 17, 2011, 1:26 pm 1:26 pm
LOL! Stupid, simple people. From elementary schools all the way through college, private schools and public schools. Grades have been bought and sold for years, through many administrations, democrat and republican. Kids pay others to take tests, and or to write their papers, coaches make deals with teachers and administrators to make sure their star athletes contiinue to be eligible to play, and by the way, had these students been star athletes…wouldnt have ever heard this story. We know this is nothing new, the only difference is we have the media to blow it up and everyone knows in an instant.
Posted by: Thoughtyouknew | November 17, 2011, 2:03 pm 2:03 pm
He should have made a deal with the athletic dept of the school, he would have made more money making sure the star athletes got passing grades! Tell me i’m wrong!
Posted by: Thoughtyouknew | November 17, 2011, 2:05 pm 2:05 pm
Sounds like he could have offered them a deal…. 5 extra credit points for every $1 or 15 points for $5.
Posted by: Joe | November 17, 2011, 2:07 pm 2:07 pm
In my high school we would give the teachers pot for better grades.
I have no problem with this teacher, he is simply giving the kids a sneak peak of how the world really works not the ridiculous land of rainbows and unicorns drivel they try and teach in public schools.
Posted by: jrey762 | November 17, 2011, 2:17 pm 2:17 pm
Scary, please root this types of activity without delay by sever penalty and jail time. Seems such activities of third world which has held them back are now at our door.
Posted by: mj | November 17, 2011, 2:19 pm 2:19 pm
This can only being expected after the attention that student-teacher affairs have gotten. NEA led instructors have switched from sex to cash to barter grades.
Posted by: Pamela | November 17, 2011, 3:02 pm 3:02 pm
Maybe he’s just getting them ready for jobs in congress?
Posted by: Anon | November 17, 2011, 3:07 pm 3:07 pm
Despite assertions to the contrary, this appears to be blatant Republicanism to me. All about the capitalistic aspects, and nothing about ethics if it gets in the way of cash. Is that not the Republican mantra?
Posted by: Robert | November 17, 2011, 3:51 pm 3:51 pm
If he taught them how to make change in the process, he may have at least given them a life skill that many (most) teenagers lack today.
Posted by: LittleStevie | November 17, 2011, 4:01 pm 4:01 pm
I used to teach Math in an East Texas High School and I used to give away lots of “A’s” and “B’s” for free: especially to those kids whose parents were politically powerful and had influence with the School Board. I worked there only one year, and the “A’s” I lavished on those kids was shameful – but really funny from a personal perspective. At the end of a year with me, some of those kids had put in so little effort and atrophied so bad that they had darned near forgot how to count to 10! Meanwhile, the kids who wanted to learn were taught well. They will never forget my Algebra Class: where the smart get smarter and the arrogant go brain dead! Yeah Team!
Posted by: Jimmy | November 17, 2011, 4:01 pm 4:01 pm
@Juergensen
“Did you perhaps mean ” I couldn’t HAVE said it better myself” ??? Looks like each person trying to slam another’s illiteracy makes an error of their own. Too funny.”
Yes, really funny. In your response there is disagreement between singular subject (each person) and plural possessive (of their own). Keep trying, illiterate.
Posted by: Don | November 17, 2011, 4:24 pm 4:24 pm
All of the political nonsense aside this has far more to do with parents who simply don’t care than some political party. If you’re involved you know when your child is having problems with a subject. If all you’re doing is asking what grade your child got on a test you’ve tuned out and given up as a parent. Yes the teacher was wrong and frankly let’s not let the kids off the hook; they also knew they were wrong. But if you surrender all responsibility for educating your child to someone else you’ve failed your child.
Posted by: glacia | November 17, 2011, 4:58 pm 4:58 pm
This would have been a perfect life lesson for those kids if the teacher had decided to give the wrong change back for the bribes in a way that favored him. Sadly, he wasn’t dishonest enough and the kids learned nothing.
Posted by: Marc | November 17, 2011, 5:55 pm 5:55 pm
Well, now we know how Obama got through school.
Chilling: Interviewer: “Professional opinion — will he ever teach again?”
School Superintendent: (long pause) “Well, I don’t *think* he’ll ever teach again in the state of Florida.
Dismantle Teacher’s Unions NOW!!!
Posted by: Daisy | November 17, 2011, 5:56 pm 5:56 pm
Wait a minute. Don’t we have a president doing the same thing for campaign donations? You submit your donation and in return get a gov’t loans.
Posted by: Dan | November 17, 2011, 5:59 pm 5:59 pm