From the story: "What Mayfield didn't know as he mounted the bridge that morning was that police had cleared him of wrongdoing."
From your reply: "A reasonable person might reasonably conclude that Mr. Mayfield searched his conscience and concluded that he was guilty of the charges or that he was guilty of similar charges with other students and the investigation would inevitably result in the truth coming out and to his undoing."
From the story: "What Mayfield didn't know as he mounted the bridge that morning was that police had cleared him of wrongdoing."
From your reply: "Yes, but I am not going to jump off a bridge over this serious charge, because I know I am no guilty, unlike this Mayfield character. The seriousness of the charge matters not a whit, what matters is the evidence. The fact that Mayfield was not willing to face the evidence against him is itself evidence of his guilt, just as the it would be evidence if he got false identification and fled to Mexico."
From the story: "What Mayfield didn't know as he mounted the bridge that morning was that police had cleared him of wrongdoing."
From your reply: "I hope I have explained this in a simple enough manner for you to understand, but I am not optimistic, given your totally flawed conclusion drawn from my earlier observations."
Based on your keen "earlier observations" noted above, a "reasonable person might reasonably conclude" that you're a pompous ass who couldn't be bothered to read the whole story. But I would disagree; you don't seem pompous to me, and I would prefer to let that last quoted comment from you stand on it's own merits. Perhaps that will help you retain your optimism!
What I want to know is...
How supportive was the district of the teacher at the time?
Was Rita Bishop, who later said nice things about him after his death, supportive at the time of the incident or did his bosses consider him guilty until proven innocent?
People who have led good lives and have their names smeared can feel devastated and hopeless if something of this magnitude occurs. You live an honest life for 55 years and put in many years as a dedicated professional and all of a sudden one person can ruin a reputation and end your career.
Life isn't fair [but we know life isnt] but where are the parents when children are learning to lie?