The Arizona Board of Education has approved a settlement agreement with the former athletic director of Cesar Chavez High School in Laveen Village in regards to his handling of a school field trip that resulted in the drowning death of a 15-year-old student.
As reported by Phoenix NBC affiliate KPNX, the board on Monday approved issuing a letter of censure to Leonard Doerfler, who was an assistant principal and Cesar's athletic director during the summer of 2023, when 15-year-old Christopher Hampton drowned at Show Low Lake during a football summer camp.
"Hampton was one of dozens of student-athletes who attended the trip with seven coaches and chaperones in July 2023. During the trip, the coaches took the students to Show Low Lake," KPNX's Kevin Reagan reported. "Board records indicate that the coaches took the students to the lake without Doerfler's consent or knowledge. The group eventually returned to Blue Ridge High School for the football camp, where coaches learned that Hampton had not returned with them. A dive team eventually found Hampton's body in the lake."
Per Reagan's reporting:
- Doerfler resigned from his administrative position at Cesar a couple of months after the incident, district records show.
- The state board of education has the authority to suspend or revoke an educator's teaching credentials or issue a letter of censure.
- Hampton's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2024. Court records show the Phoenix Union High School District reached a settlement in the case.
"The District investigated the incident and determined that Respondent engaged in unprofessional conduct by failing to ensure that students on the camping trip were appropriately authorized and supervised," board records state in Doerfler's case.
