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Former Band Director Speaks Out About Termination, Gun At School
July 25, 2012
The Flomaton High School band director fired Monday by the Escambia County (Ala.) Board of Education is speaking out through his attorney.
In a statement Tuesday afternoon from Brewton attorney Charles E. Johns, Jr., Lambert fired back at the BOE and their decision to terminate him for having a gun locked in a band room office while he and the band were on a school sponsored trip to Atlanta.
Johns said Lambert did not break any state or federal laws but was alleged to have violated a school board policy that provides that teachers or employees may be suspended or terminated for having a firearm on school property. He said the policy is different than the “zero tolerance policy” for students.
Lambert admitted to an “inadvertent” violation of the weapons policy and agreed to a 30 day suspension without pay to resolve the matter.
“The board was not flexible nor was it willing to discuss any sanction other than termination. The board chose to disregard Mr. Lambert’s 30 plus years of service and flawless personnel record and chose the politically expedient course of action which was termination,” Johns said.
Johns said it was unfortunate that the board of eduction chose to terminate Lambert, disregarding a public outcry to the contrary due to Lambert’s lengthy, 30-year plus career as an educator.
“I will consult with my client in the upcoming days and I would anticipate that we will appeal the unfortunate and misguided decision which we believe ignored both state and constitutional law,” Johns said on behalf of his client. “Additionally, we also believe the policy itself was legally flawed in its construction. The children of this county were not served by this decision. Rather than preparing for the upcoming marching season Mr. Lambert will be preparing for his appeal.”
The Escambia County (Ala.) Board of Education’s decision to fire Lambert was not unanimous. The termination recommendation from Superintendent Randall Little passed 5-1, with board member Cindy Jackson casting the dissenting vote.
Pictured: Former Flomaton High School Band Director John Lambert marches with the Hurricane Band in the 2011 Flomaton Christmas Parade. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
29 Responses to “Former Band Director Speaks Out About Termination, Gun At School”
I didnt read all these comments but i feel teachers should have the right to pack. If there’s a waco @ the school shooting , They would be the first shooting back. Wait on the cops to arrive? Lots of dead people by the time that happens. Let them carry.
Dirty pool..that’s how they play..that’s all I’m gunna say..wickedness in high places
I severely disagree with the boards decision and the fact that as far as I have gathered, the custodian that blattenly unlocked Mr. Lambert’s office and plundered through his personal bag and unzipping his gun case that looked like a book to find the gun he forgot was even in there is still on paid administrative leave. I mean it would have never been found if she wasn’t rifling through his bag trying to steal something. Even Mr. Lambert said he kept $200 in emergency cash in his bag and $80 was missing. This smells too fishy. It smells to me like they are trying to cover up the fact that they hired a thief and they are trying to cheat Mr. Lambert out of his pension or some kind of retirement. He was supposed retire once already that I know of and chose to stay for the kids that he took to many different competitions. Or are the board members just jealous of all the awards the band has won? For all we know, they could be doing this because they’re trying to cut finding for the band like they are trying to do at all the other schools. Like I said, something smells really fishy.
I disagree with the board’s decision. The only thing he can do now is appeal, so for the moment the board is done with this particular issue. Time for them to move on to the next issue at hand……..FIRE MS Folmar. She was in the wrong and had ill intentions to go thru locked doors and dig thru a duffle bag that was zipped and out of the way, that was someone else’s personal property!!!! She has no moral compass and should not be around our children. Just as we should not have to worry about our children’s safety at school nor should we worry if a known theif is gonna violate our children and their belongings!!!!! All FES and FHS parents should be knocking down the school’s door and the doors of the board to demand this woman is FIRED!!!!!!! What is wrong with the citizens of this town that can just sit by so idlely and let this woman with no moral compass be in the presence of our children everyday…..this is OUR school, OUR children….take a stand and keep it a good wholesome school and town!!!!!!
@mom: I have been informed and am glad to know it is legal and not breaking any rules if you are a CWP holder to bring your weapon into a theater in some states. (including Florida) That might have stopped the evil sicko in Aurora, but it might not have since was covered head to toe, including his hands, throat, face, & groin area, in bullet proof material.
Almost any public area these days is subject to psychos who may shoot up the place- anytime- anywhere. I would like to think Flomaton High School is one of the few places left where you wouldn’t have to worry about that, but you never know. That’s why I am more comfortable with a couple or so full time armed SRO officers being on campus with my kids, rather than all of the teachers being armed – especially secretly or illegally armed. Say 30 teachers are armed as opposed to just 3 SRO’s. That’s 30 or so weapons the wrong kid on a bad day has a chance of getting his hands on.
Hey I am well aware that anyone can walk into FHS on any given day and just start picking people off. That’s why I am all for more than one armed security personnel on campus with one monitoring the entrance while school is open. With me being military, my oldest children were Army brats and have been to many schools all across the US, including Colorado, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, & Hawaii. With the exception of one in North Carolina and two in Alabama, all of these schools had some kind of security system in place to monitor who was entering the campus & to CONTROL who was allowed to enter the school. In most of the elementary schools you would have to go through an office before you could be let into the entrance to the hallways with the classrooms. The teachers had electronic badges which let them in & out of entrances/exits. They were all excellent schools and had no problems, issues, or incidents while we were there. It’s precautionary. May never be needed…, but it also may prevent a tragedy. And I think that makes more sense then having just any or all of the teachers being armed around all those kids all the time. Just my opinion.
@ wow really: I don’t care if he’s retired from the military 30+ years ago. The school isn’t a war zone. I am prior service active duty Army & currently an Army Reservist myself, so I know what that entails… and it doesn’t matter. All of that is irrelevant and beside the point I was making. I hate it when a truly all good person’s bad decision causes a negative, tragic, or dramatic impact on their life. I really do. I have experienced it and maybe sometimes it isn’t fair in the eyes of some and doesn’t make everyone or anyone happy, but that is life. And with that, I am done arguing my point here.
As a mom, I would feel that my child was safe at school if a teacher at school had a gun.
I bet those people at the theater wished someone had a gun to defend them.
@Nicole….maybe if you knew Mr. Lambert, you would know that he is retired military. So I would think he is trained with weapons.
Will the board fire Ms. Folmer? She should also be prosecuted for stealing, she had no business going through two locked doors anyway, they should be lookin at other theft incidents she’s probably the culprit.
Sniper: NOT AT SCHOOL. If that’s the case, I’d like to send a gun with my 17 yr old senior and my 19 yr old sophomore in college to make sure they can defend himself in case a teacher snaps. That’s silly.
They should have a couple of armed police on campus for that. NOT every or any random teacher. Haven’t you heard of the college professors who have shot up people on campus? Teacher’s and professors shouldn’t have weapons on campus. Only trained law enforcement for many reasons!
Simply put, they should have designated & trained armed law enforcement related officers in place on school campuses just in case any of the “what if” scenarios arise.
if you never know when someone is going to snap wouldn’t it make sense to carry a gun so you can defend yourself when they do???
Isn’t it a violation of his rights for someone to rummage through his locker without permission from him? Not saying he should or shouldn’t have a gun there, just asking what rights a person has regarding personal belongings in a locked locker?
Not everyone who supports the school board’s decision is for “no tolerance!”
I am pro-gun, BUT allowing teachers to carry around all of those students is a dumb idea. That would just increase the possibility of the wrong student getting their hands on one of the many teachers’ weapons.
A couple of armed SRO’s is a much better idea in my opinion.
Another point I’d like to make is people are just assuming his story about putting his loaded weapon with extra ammo in the band room is the truth. How do we know he didn’t have it in there at other times??? I don’t care how well you say you know him or how great of guy Sally & Sue says he is…. I don’t know that!!! And even if I did- YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN SOMEONE IS GOING TO SNAP! I don’t feel comfortable with him being there around my kid knowing he secretly had a loaded gun at school no matter what his story of why is.
Regardless if he is a great man & great band director with a great career record and no criminal record with no ill intentions he should still be held accountable for his decisions & actions just like ANY other person. Same goes for the custodian.
I keep seeing “guns shouldn’t be on school campuses”, well if that’s the case, all resource officers shouldn’t carry their weapons either. They can then stop some crazy person with their pepper spray. People these days, I see a lot of precaution by him taking the bag and locking it in a bag, then in a locked office, and then locked band room. The only way through the doors is with a key. Way to go school board, who are we getting next, the people who live across the street?
This is honestly a shame. Mr. Lambert was a very good man. Mr. Lambert pushed our whole band to success. He has always tried very hard to get us amazing scores at contests and helped many of us succeed. The janitor had no reason at all going through his things. Mr. Lambert is very careful about who goes in his office and the reason they go in his office. I don’t believe any of these kids would go into his office and go through his stuff. Everyone in the FHS band has more respect for him than that. But this janitor had the need to some reason go in there and go through his things. She didn’t get fired although she has had problems at FHS in the past. Lambert has done many great things in his life including time in the armed services. He is a great and kind man and always will be. If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have had such a good time with my drumline that he pushed everyday to accomplish the goal of getting great scores anywhere he went. Without him, this band will not be the same. As for people saying we need armed guards at our schools, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard, especially in a respectful town like Flomaton. FHS is a great school, and I’m sure if it were up to them, they would back Mr. Lambert every step of the way. I really hope everything works out for him.
Instead of firing him after 30 yrs of remarkable service they could have let him retire. They just wanted to make an example out of Mr. Lambert. Sorry but I don’t think it was a good example. Remembering you in my prayers!
A Former ECHS Student
I support the school board 100% and so do many other people!
Someone needs to teach Ms Folmar, not to go plundering through personal belongings in locked offices. She is heading down a bad path.
I am not from Flomaton and don’t have a dog in this fight but this decision to fire this man gets a great big booooooo!!! from me.To me this is an over reaction to what might have been…..why get in a closed room and make up scary cenerious on what could have happened and then from that emotional stand point make a decision that will effect this man for the rest of his life.I think logic was thrown out the door.This is a man with an impeccable record.To me that should have been considered…..more than considerded.His record and reputation should have been able to stand on it’s on.BAAAD DECISION school board.Admit it and seek to rehire this man.
“He is admirable! He would be hailed a “Hero” if your child was about to be the next innocent soul to be murdered while attending a school function or otherwise and Mr. Lambert retreived his firearm from his locked office and personal bag and put an end to the “lunatics” rampage.”
If we are going to start speaking about hypothetical circumstances, what if instead of a nosy janitor, it had been a 12 year old student that found the loaded gun? What if a curious kid had killed himself or his friends playing with a gun he found in the band director’s office? Would you stand behind him and hail him as a “Hero”? Would you blame the child because they were somewhere they shouldn’t have been?
The decision to punish the janitor or not should not factor into the decision on whether Mr. Lambert should be terminated. His “inadvertent” violation of policy, no matter how it was discovered, is his responsibility to deal with. And can someone people explain to me how you “inadvertently” violate a policy about bringing a firearm onto school grounds?
This is what we have in this world today (though I thought it only existed in the big, liberal and God-less yankee cities). Apparently the Escambia County School Board has decided to exercise the policy so many liberal morons without a brain across this country abide by – the policy of “zero tolerance – zero common sense – zero Golden Rule ethics”. I can only imagine how the late Andy Griffith of Mayberry would have addressed this situation.
Of course, Mr. Lambert needed to be warned because his decision wasn’t the best he could have made. Had he taken the time (maybe he didn’t have the time) he could have contacted the FPD to hold the gun for him until he returned, but he certainly is no “criminal” and shouldn’t be treated as one by the school board!
HOWEVER, the more pathetic message this sends is that the school board is more concerned with firing a well respected, long term teacher to “prove a point” than they are with the BLATANT lack of morals, ethics and respect for the law that this lowlife scum janitor had who broke into a LOCKED DESK DRAWER of a teacher and stole CASH! The janitor should not only be fired, but should be arrested and charged by the police with breaking/entering and burglary!
Superintendent Little and the Esc Co School Board (with the exception of Ms. Jackson) are a complete embarrassment to the citizens of Esc County and to good, honorable, moral people with common sense everywhere! Heaven help us all in these days when grown adults in positions of leadership act with such a lack of “comon sense ethics”!
Sad…. Sorry for Mr. Lambert and I hope that he wins his appeal. As for the bleeding hearts out there… He is a criminal in your minds because he was so careless to bring a firearm to school property and lock it securely in an office and especially inside a personal bag.
For the people that read the news every day…. He is admirable! He would be hailed a “Hero” if your child was about to be the next innocent soul to be murdered while attending a school function or otherwise and Mr. Lambert retreived his firearm from his locked office and personal bag and put an end to the “lunatics” rampage.
So sorry for the embarassment you are going thru Mr. Lambert. Maybe we can start an internet campaign to raise money for you (like the recent bus driver on National News) and you can retire after your 30+ years of service without having to worry about the repricussions of this.
What was a janitor doing in a locked office plundering through a closed bag? Sounds like mr. lambert needs to get a padlock for his bag. Would the janitor have then cut the lock off with bolt cutters? “Oh, the horrible gun just jumped out at me!”.
I personally am glad to hear the board’s decision. Guns have no place on a school campus. If they had taken this too lightly, I would have had serious reservations about sending my child to school in this district. He had to have known the rules, and therefore chose not to follow them. And, usually there are consequences for that.
sorry to hear this Mr. Lambert. When you were in atmore you taught all 3 of my children and they loved you yes strict but you had to be strict to get them and keep them in line. my children tells there kids how you had them marching heel toe and corner turn . you work very hard to get the band ready for those friday night games. we are very proud of you my grandchildren knows you because when we see you in the store i tell them you were there mother band director but we are praying for you and just remember that JESUS is looking down on every man .
i remember mr. lambert when he was at atmore he was strict but produced excellent results our band always went to state finals when he left our band performances practically went not just downhill but straight off the cliff. i think this a very bad decision on part of the board he had the gun locked up in his office inside a bag why was that janitor plundering through his stuff for anyway
30+yrs a band director: yea Wut he did wuz wrong.. But it goes beyond that.. Board got 2gerher got to thinking since they had probable cause to fire him we better go ahead & fire him than to give him any type of pension later.. People don’t care how old u r & how long u’ve been work’n use ya thn throw ya away
I am so glad to hear this. We will support you in this too Mr. Lambert. I don’t want to stop hearing you tell the band, “Good job band. Band, I love ya, and I’m proud of you band” after EVERY performance. We love you too, and are so very proud as well as honored for you to have taught our children.
Flomaton Hurricane Band mother, & Band Booster member.
I never marched under your direction Mr. Lambert, I graduated a few years before you came to Flomaton, but I stand behind you 100%!!