Seminole County band director resigns after internal investigation

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — A Seminole County teacher is off the job after an internal investigation.

Lake Brantley High Band Director Brad Wharton resigned last Thursday after being on administrative leave for over a month while the Seminole County School District conducted an internal affairs investigation.

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During that time, parents tell Channel 9 they’ve been left in the dark about why Wharton was out of the classroom. “We just know the band director isn’t there anymore,” said Jacsha Santiago, a parent of a band student.

An Altamonte Springs police report reveals Wharton had been under school investigation after the parents of a female student went to Lake Brantley High administration on Sept. 22. The parents reported Wharton had been texting their daughter and showing up to her job.

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Altamonte Springs police concluded Wharton did not commit a crime; however, school officials told police the relationship Wharton had with a student was “inappropriate.”

The police report said Wharton and the student exchanged roughly 1,200 texts between May and September of this year. Several of those texts were after 8 p.m.

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In June, the report says, Wharton started asking the teen for her work schedule. The teen told police it eventually turned into him visiting daily and walking her to her car after her shift.

By August, the report says Wharton’s texts, “almost never referenced the business of band and instead focus on their personal lives—traveling, working out, taking naps, and what they ate during the day.”

That same month, Wharton regularly texted the teen “good morning” around 6:30 a.m. The report says he complimented her physique and appearance.

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Before school started, the student’s schedule was changed—placing her in Wharton’s room for four class periods every other day of the week. The report says Wharton would text the student that he missed her and was experiencing “withdrawals.”

The same day the relationship was reported to school administration, the school placed Wharton on administrative leave while the school conducted an internal investigation.

Channel 9 is waiting for the school’s report on the internal investigation to be released.

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Wharton resigned on Oct. 26. He had been band director at the school since August 2015.

Channel 9 reached out to Wharton multiple times for comment. He has not responded.

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