Following Wednesday’s announcement by Mansfield City Schools Superintendent Brian Garverick that the Mansfield Integrated Learning Center’s principal and four teachers had been placed on paid administrative leave, Garverick confirmed Friday that a total of seven staff members are now on leave.
According to the superintendent staff members were placed on leave over a period from Feb. 6 to March 7.
The teachers and staff placed on paid leave include Mansfield Integrated Learning Center Principal Robert Singleton. Also put on leave were four teachers who were part of the school’s summer program: teacher Stacy Prochazka, Mansfield Senior High School teacher Todd Hoovler, Mansfield Middle School teacher Catina Mitchell, and Special Education teacher Michelle Crump.
On Friday, Transitional Coordinator at the learning center and an English teacher, Jacqueline Lewis and Terese Terrell, who was the grants administrator for the learning center, were also placed on leave.
“I cannot confirm or deny that we have received a report [about the investigation at Mansfield Integrated Learning Center],” said Associate Director of Communications John Charlton of the Ohio Department of Education (ODE). He also explained that ODE would not investigate unless they received a referral and after the school’s investigation was completed.
Former Learning Center faculty member Tom Hager has stepped in as acting principal of the center. Hager currently serves as Assistant Principal of Malabar Intermediate School in Mansfield.
In a previous report, when asked if placing the principal and teachers on leave was in any way connected to the recent academic ineligibility of a Mansfield Senior High School athlete or the loss of the basketball team’s Ohio Cardinal Conference (OCC) championship, Garverick stated, “I have no comment at this time.”
The loss of Mansfield Senior’s championship followed their Feb. 14 win over West Holmes when it was later identified that Mansfield Senior had played a senior center who was later identified as academically ineligible. The 2013-14 OCC boys’ basketball championship was passed to West Holmes.
“The school reported the ineligibility situation to the OHSAA and worked with the OHSAA staff to confirm what infraction took place, and to receive the penalty,” said Tim Stried, Director of Information Services with the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). Stried said the matter was closed as far as OHSAA was concerned.
For the current investigation of the Mansfield City Schools staff, legal counsel for the school district is Bricker & Eckler, a Columbus law firm. Their office could not be reached for comment on Friday.
For more about the role of Mansfield Integrated Learning Center in the district, see the related story.
