PALMETTO, Fla. – A Manatee charter school may be looking for a new principal.
The case of Eddie Hundley will come before the Education Practices Commission on May 8, two months after the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) recommended his educator certification be revoked for five years.
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Hundley, a longtime principal in the Manatee County School District, drew the ire of the FDOE and others when he gave a glowing endorsement to one of his former teachers, Quentin Peterson. Peterson was a music teacher at Lincoln when he came under investigation for having inappropriate contact with an underage girl.
He resigned from the school district on September 1, 2017. Three weeks later, Peterson applied for a position in Sarasota County and by mid-October, he was working as a substitute teacher in the district.
In April 2018, he was arrested on child pornography charges.
By that time, Peterson had been hired as a full-time math teacher at Booker High School. One of the reasons he got that position was Hundley’s strong recommendation.
In January, Hundley defended his actions in an administrative hearing. Administrative Law Judge Lynne Quimby-Pennock didn’t buy Hundley’s argument. She ruled that statements he gave to Sarasota school officials about Peterson were false and misleading.
The Education Practices Commission will issue its ruling within 30 days after the case is heard. If Hundley’s certificate is revoked, he would not be allowed to work in any position which has direct contact with students.
