Shawnee teacher agrees to resign, no hearing

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CAMDEN — A termination hearing scheduled for this week for Preble Shawnee teacher and coach Greg Stacy has been canceled in lieu of a resignation agreement made between Stacy and the PS Board of Education.

The Preble Shawnee Local Schools Board of Education issued a public statement Monday morning, July 11.

The statement, as presented, read:

“The Preble Shawnee Local School District Board of Education and Greg Stacy have reached an agreement that Mr. Stacy will submit his resignation from all employment with the district and the board will accept the resignation.

“The primary goal of the board in entering into this agreement was to ensure that Mr. Stacy would not be returning to teach students in the district. A goal of both parties entering into this agreement was to avoid the expense and divisiveness of a pre-termination hearing. The parties understood that the process of a termination hearing would be very expensive.

“Under Ohio law, a teacher has a right to a hearing before a referee and appeals to court and the board is obligated to pay the entire cost of the referee, the court reporter, and copies of the transcript for all parties, as well as its own attorneys’ fees. (Ohio Revised Code 3319.16) These costs would have been substantial for both parties, given the large number of allegations and the many student witnesses. The parties have been presented with the opportunity to submit/accept a resignation – also at a cost, but without requiring students to testify against their teacher.

“What price can be placed on the damage inflicted upon children having to testify and be cross-examined in a formal hearing against their teacher?

“Under the agreement, Mr. Stacy agreed to resign without a hearing, without putting multiple students and staff through testimony and cross-examination, without any appeals, and without the costs of a referee, transcript, and attorneys’ fees.”

The statement was issued following a 7 a.m. PS BOE meeting on Monday, July 11. The meeting was held in executive session.

Stacy’s attorney, Brian Muenchenbach, was unavailable for additional comment at press time.

During a board meeting in April, the Preble Shawnee Board of Education voted unanimously to non-renew Stacy’s contract at the end of the school year.

The board cited grounds for termination ranging from violating policy regarding sexual harassment of a student, to “boundary violations,” texting female students regarding non-educational matters, and more.

Counsel for Stacy, Muenchenbach, spoke on Stacy’s behalf during the meeting on April 21, as did several other community members.

Preble County Sheriff Mike Simpson’s office and Prosecuting Attorney Martin Votel’s office found no basis for criminal charges during their investigation.

During a Thursday, May 19, regular meeting, Shawnee board members accepted a resolution which noted, “Gregory Stacy has demanded that such termination hearing be conducted before a referee appointed by the Ohio Department of Education.” The resolution was needed because Ohio Revised Code requires such an appointment be entered into the meeting minutes of the school’s board of education. According to school officials, the Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction had appointed attorney Robert Harrelson of Troy to serve as the referee in the now-canceled termination hearing, which was to take place at the PSBOE office in Camden, July 12-15.

By Eddie Mowen Jr.

[email protected]

Reach Eddie Mowen Jr. at 937-683-4056 or on Twitter @emowen_RH.

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