OXNARD, Calif. — Former porn star turned middle school teacher Stacie Halas told the Commission on Professional Competence on Thursday that she regretted making X-rated videos and only did so out of desperation.
Halas was fired on April 18 by the Oxnard School District for having starred in a series of pornographic films that were discovered by students at Haydock Intermediate School, where she taught eighth grade science.
Halas argued that the movies were produced prior to her career as an educator (during an eight-month period between the years 2005 and 2006), but the board decided that her exposure as an adult performer would only continue to disrupt the school's learning environment.
Halas, who starred under the alias Tiffany Six in 22 adult productions, including Jules Jordan Video's "No Cum Dodging Allowed," in which she performs oral sex and double penetrations with up to four men, filed an appeal with the Office of Administrative Hearing and was put on paid leave.
Halas' dismissal hearing began on Monday and is being held at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. Judge Julie Cabos-Owen leads a panel of administrative judges who will decide if Halas can return to teaching.
Attorneys for the school board were first to call witnesses this week. Testimony from Halas' peers, students, administrators and Oxnard School District Superintendent Jeff Chancer painted Halas as dishonest and an ongoing threat to student learning.
Halas on Thursday testified that she regretted doing porn and that the videos she starred in made her feel "dirty" and "sick to my stomach," reports VCStar.com. She said she felt that her "morals went out the window" and that "the person that I was disappeared."
Halas told the panel that she was approached by an adult producer through her MySpace account in 2005. Having moved in with her parents after a bad breakup that left her financially strapped, Halas took the producer up on his offer to make ends meet for both her and her family.
"I wanted to take care of my family," Halas said. "I was so desperate and vulnerable, I just did it. I thought I could just turn my head off and be numb."
Halas said she quit porn in August 2006 and soon after landed a job teaching science at Simi Valley High School, where she was confronted about her X-rated past by the school district's Assistant Superintendent Don Gaudioso, who earlier in the week testified Halas first denied making the video, but later admitted to it and resigned.
Halas will continue her testimony Friday. She is represented by attorney Richard Schwab.
Photo: David Yamamoto, Ventura County Star
