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Pcti Military Teacher Accused Of Touching Students Has License Suspended

WAYNE, N.J. — A teacher at the Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne accused of inappropriately touching students and making rude comments to staff had his teaching license suspended by the State Board of Examiners for two years.

Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne.

Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne.

Photo Credit: PCTI Facebook

Shellie Mackson resigned in 2014 from his tenured position after PCTI certified charges against him alleging unbecoming conduct, the board said.

The district alleged Mackson said "Wow you are very attractive," and "You are fine," to students, the board said. He is also accused of stroking a student's hair, kissing her on the lips and hugging her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable, according to the board.

Mackson is accused of going up to a teacher in front of students while she was leaning over, pressing his body against hers and saying, "What a nice leaning post."

"Mackson continued to engage in inappropriate behavior even though he had received a prior suspensions and reprimands," the board said.

Mackson held a Teacher of Military Science certificate, issued in September 2005. After reviewing the following information, at its October 2014 meeting, the board voted to issue an Order to Show Cause that month to Mackson as to why his certificate should not be revoked.

Mackson had 30 days to respond and on Dec. 8 of that year, he denied all conduct attributed to him, according to the board.

He also stated that his conduct“did not warrant the revocation of his certificates” and “had no affect... on the maintenance of discipline and the proper administration of the school system," the board said.

Mackson also maintained he was not unfit to hold his certificates and the allegations were false and without merit, according to the board.

Since there were material facts in dispute, the board transmitted the matter to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) in February 2015 for hearing as a contested case. there were four hearings between August 2015 and December 2016, and the record closed this past April.

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