November 16th, 2004

The former school safety director of Lee County is to attend federal court this week, and he will be arguing that he has been unfairly treated and his position terminated simply because of his stringency on matters such as fire codes and asbestos issues. Ernie Scott claims that he was often made to stay in his office for days on end, and that his inspections were continually disrupted by district officials.

Scott also claims that his position was termination because he brought the safety issues concerning matters such as asbestos and fire codes into the open. He also stated that, although he was aware that his stringency often caused delays in construction and other matters, these issues were of paramount importance and as a safety officer these were the aspect that were his concern.

Scott was known to discuss his concerns about safety issues with reporters and on radio, but claims that it was due to the fact that he “exercised free speech” that his contract was terminated. It was also because contractors were growing weary of the delays often caused by Scott’s issues, and they then put pressure on officials to deal with the problem.

There is current controversy with regards to the methods used by the safety director. Any complaints that Scott had about safety issues should have bee put in writing to the Environmental Protection Agency, and it is unclear whether this was ever done. Scott states that he has proof of postage, which he will reveal at the trial.