Glendale high school PE teacher may be fired after school pool drowning

GLENDALE, AZ - The Peoria Unified School District is looking into firing a teacher after they say his irresponsibility led to a student's death.

Friday, family, friends and even students of Ironwood High School physical education teacher Tim McKee came to his defense.

"He cares so much about his teaching, so much about his kids, that he puts us all before everyone," one student said.

There wasn't a dry eye in the room during a hearing with the school district's governing board Friday.

"He supported everything we did and he was just such a good coach," another student said.

The Glendale teacher's termination was in the hands of the board.

They were deciding if he was negligent and failed as a teacher when one of his students drowned in May.

"I've lost weight, I can't sleep, it's devastating. I think about it every single day," McKee said. "I see images every single day of what happened. I love my job, I care about my kids, and they're trying to take that away from me."

Sixteen-year-old Jesse Prado was under the watch of McKee at the school pool May 12 when reports say Prado made his way into the deep end, went under, and no one saw.

McKee has admitted he knew Prado was not a strong swimmer, but his lawyers say the school district is at fault for not having life guards on duty as required by Maricopa County law.

"The people responsible for not providing lifeguards, not providing training to the P.E. teachers, they're the ones bringing these charges, saying it's his fault," Kevin Koelbel said. "It's an attempt to put the blame where it doesn't belong."

After an hour long closed door session, the board made their stance clear.

"The process of terminating a teacher's employment has many steps and today is just one of those steps," said Kathy Knecht, school board president.

As the board continued to decide McKee's fate, parents were standing with their teacher.

"What we're trying to say is that Tim McKee is one of a kind teacher and coach," parent Betsey Allen said. "He always goes the extra mile and truly cares about his students even after they're done with his classes."

But in the end, all of the pleas and tears weren't enough to change the school board's decision to let McKee go.

The board voted to keep McKee on paid leave while they seek his dismissal. He has 10 days to contest the district's claims.