VIERA, Fla. – Speaking with News 6 Friday, Brevard Schools spokeswoman Michelle Irwin said despite troubling information found in the personnel files of now former Titusville High football coaches Leonard Agee and Benjamin Jenkins, the district will not immediately review the files of the rest of its employees.
"We do have 9,000 employees, so that's an onerous task," said Irwin.
The district said Agee and Jenkins first came on as volunteer coaches after passing a fingerprint background check.
The district said it does that test for every employee every five years but to do it more regularly would cost too much.
And leaders note, like in the case of former Spessard Holland Elementary principal Ricky Sheppard -- who was arrested a month ago on child porn charges-- he had no prior criminal history.
So he would have passed any background check, any time.
But following a month of three federal investigations and arrests, News 6 asked the district if there are still alleged criminals working in Brevard Schools.
Irwin answered, referring to Agee and Jenkins, "These people had misdemeanors. So that's all we found. What we had through their security clearance versus what they were just arrested for is vastly different."
Personnel files show in March 2014, Agee noted he had a criminal history, yet five months later he got the coaching job he applied for.
A year earlier, files also show Jenkins lied to school leaders when he failed to note a drug arrest.
The district said it now has a zero tolerance policy for anyone hiding any arrests or criminal history, and a stronger background check system is also in the works.
"Words cannot express how angry and hurt we are as a school district over this," said Irwin. "Will we look at tightening up some of our expectations for new hires, absolutely. These are some people who made very bad decisions, did some very bad things. But what these two people have done should not be a reflection of the great people who work to serve our kids everyday."