Substitute Teacher

A substitute teacher and youth soccer coach was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of possessing child pornography, authorities said. Federal agents and local law enforcement officials arrested George Harcourt Bull, 58, at his Lake Forest condo about 2 p.m. after finding numerous photos of prepubescent boys on his computer, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. An Arizona father in June tipped authorities that his 13-year-old son had been exchanging sexually explicit instant messages and text messages and having Web-cam sessions with someone who used the screen name "joeycal," which was traced to Bull.

The Los Angeles Unified School District's problem-plagued payroll system inadvertently cut off healthcare benefits to about 1,300 employees, mostly substitute teachers, who didn't work in July. Substitutes who work the equivalent of 100 days during a school year are eligible for medical, dental and vision benefits the following year if they are still teaching, but the district sent a letter to some employees late last week informing them that their coverage had ended July 31. District officials apologized for the error in a letter Aug. 28 and promised that medical benefits would be restored without a break in coverage, although some employees said Friday they still haven't been able to use their insurance cards to fill prescriptions or visit a doctor.

Re "Power to change schools sought," June 28 Again, thanks to LAUSD Supt. David L. Brewer's own words, we are made aware of what folly it was to hire a former admiral to head a large urban school district. Brewer's metaphor equating principals with ship captains who have the power of God would only lead to further failures. As a substitute teacher in the district, I have encountered many truly incompetent principals who were elevated beyond their abilities and were toxic to their school environment.

Re "Defending home-style ABCs," April 3 In articles about the latest ruling affecting home schooling, I have not seen anything mentioning what a parent would have to do to obtain a credential. I home schooled my daughter for more than two years. It was a wonderful experience, and I enjoyed it so much that I decided I might enjoy earning some extra money as a substitute teacher. I don't believe I had to do anything more than take the California Basic Educational Skills Test and get fingerprinted.

Patricia Albrecht died of gallbladder cancer in December 2006. The former Los Angeles Unified School District cafeteria worker's next paycheck arrived several months later and paychecks kept coming until this January. "I thought it was pretty ironic. . . . I never thought I'd have to pay my mom's taxes after she passed," said her daughter, Jennifer Albrecht, who faxed her mother's death certificate to L.A. Unified last spring in the hope that she could return the money.

It's always a big risk to bet on a team playing in a bowl game with an interim coach. Sometimes, the gamble pays off, as it did in 2003 when Bo Pelini stepped in at Nebraska after Frank Solich was fired and led the Cornhuskers to a 17-3 victory over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl. Then there are times when backing an interim doesn't add up, such as last season when Alabama dismissed David Shula and fill-in coach Joe Kines suffered a 34-31 loss to Oklahoma State in the Independence Bowl.

A substitute teacher has been arrested for pummeling a disruptive student Wednesday at an alternative school, authorities said. Joseph Brazer, 35, was charged with a single count of felony battery. Students at the Whiddon-Rogers Education Center had to break up a fight between Brazer and student Shelton Davis, 18, said Det. Katherine Collins, spokeswoman for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. She said Brazer knocked out one of Davis' teeth and broke part of another.

Re "District payroll a lesson in misery," Aug. 25 As a substitute teacher, I have been hurt by the Los Angeles Unified School District's ineptitude. It's time for our mayor, an advocate for improving education, to jump into the fray and effect an investigation into exactly what went wrong, while at the same time bringing his talents and power to bear to get educators paid. Hal Rothberg Calabasas -- Not only is the new system flawed, the process to remedy a problem is impossible to navigate.

A former substitute teacher from Ontario who admitted to inappropriately touching six students under the age of 11 during school hours was sentenced to five years in prison by a San Bernardino Superior Court judge Friday.