Board hears more comments regarding teacher placed on leave

As they have now for the three months in a row, the family members and supporters of a Hillsboro City Schools employee currently on administrative leave asked the district's board of education to reinstate the educator. Some supporters acknowledged that many of the facts and allegations surrounding the case are not known to the public, but they feel it is in the best interest of Hillsboro students for the matter to come to a resolution.

The board met for its regular April meeting on Wednesday, and heard comments from three community members. The employee, who has not been in attendance during any of the meetings, has been on administrative leave since November. While his name has been publicly stated, The Highland County Press has chosen not to publish his name, as no criminal charges have been filed and there is no pending investigation by local law enforcement. 

In accordance with the district's policy, board of education president Sam Barnhouse told those in attendance that there would be no response from board members. However, they will receive a written response addressing their concerns within 10 days.

Following the meeting, Hillsboro Superintendent Rick Earley said that he could not comment specifically regarding the ongoing issue, but that there was a chance that additional information could be released later this week.

Hillsboro resident Dave Grover addressed the board first, saying that he had been ready to condemn the inaction of the board, until he realized that he did not know all the facts of the case.

"I pretty much am not a malcontent or a hothead," Grover told the board, noting that he had only spoken to the board twice in the 30 years he's lived in the school district. "I think most of you know me. Some of you know me too well. But up until about 10 days ago, I was ready to, so to speak and take a reference from the Bible, call down fire from Heaven upon all your heads for your delay in making a decision."

Grover said he was "pulled up short" when he was asked if he knew what the teacher had been accused of.

"I do not officially know ... so therefore I can't call down fire," Grover said. "I can say, I would hope and pray that a fast decision would be made. This thing has drug on for five months. I truthfully can say I've worked with (the teacher and former coach) about 20-25 years in about three or four capacities. I find him to be an outstanding man. I think about the only thing he is really guilty of is putting the students, players and individuals first. Caring too much. And that's a sad state of affairs for our society today. I hope that by this time next month this will be a dead issue, one way or another."

Wearing a t-shirt with the words, "Rise above hate," Rick Burns, a relative of the teacher, addressed the board, asking again that he be reinstated.

Burns read Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech on freedom, and then said that he believed that when the teacher was removed from the Hillsboro school building where he had taught, "his freedom was taken away from him.

"I don't know all the ins and outs, but I believe in (the teacher)," Burns said. "This man does not deserve this, his family, the community. We could be using the money more wisely for something else."

As he has during his previous times before the board, Burns concluded by saying, "It's not too late to reinstate."

Marcus Burns, another relative of the teacher, told the board that it was sad the community didn't rally around the students and the teacher, and support one another the way Hillsboro used to.

"With these allegations, would you walk away from your job?" Marcus Burns asked. "There has not been no sheriff involved, no police involved ... getting threats saying you need to resign ... that's pretty sad. I've been going to the news stations and everybody else, and they're saying you guys are trying to protect (my relative). If you guys were trying to help him, you would have encouraged him, tried to get ahold of him, not through lawyers. The man has been in the school system 30-plus years. This is sad. Sad for our community ... It's like we're split. We all should be equal. Love thy neighbor. There shouldn't be no hate. This is 2012. Let's start today, and learn how to love thy neighbor."

Regarding the situation that led to the teacher being placed on administrative leave, Earley has said, "If there is an allegation, it will be investigated."

He has not said who is investigating the allegations, but he has stated that there are different types of investigations. 
 
"In education, there are legal aspects, and there are ethical aspects," Earley said. "We have to go by the Ohio Educators Code of Conduct. That may not be breaking the law. In education, we're held to a totally different level than people in other professions. If it is ethical, law enforcement is not going to be involved. That is not their job."