Eye on you

They thought the Mitchell High cafeteria worker was stealing money. So the Pasco food service department set about finding out. With an unauthorized peephole camera above the worker's station.

Nothing ever got videotaped. Nothing got proved, either. The employee never faced charges or disciplinary action, and still works for Pasco schools to this day.

The situation did lead to an admission from the district administration, though, that the camera system was improperly installed, against policy. The administration also offered a promise.

"While the district has a responsibility to respond to any reports or information which indicates possible unlawful activity in the workplace by an employee(s), the district agrees that the use of covert videotaping in the workplace as an investigatory tool … will only occur under the direction and control of the appropriate law enforcement agency to ensure the appropriate laws and privacy considerations are adhered to," employee relations director Terry Rhum wrote in an Oct. 9 letter to the United School Employees of Pasco, which had filed a grievance against the school.

That was good enough for the union, which primarily sought to prevent a future repeat. It dropped the complaint shortly after receiving Rhum's letter.

"I think they thought law enforcement was involved," union prez Lynne Webb said. "In all my years, this is the first time I've known this to happen. So I truly do believe this is an aberration and it's not going to happen again."

For more details, see tomorrow's St. Petersburg Times Pasco County section.