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Massie was originally informed he was on leave in a letter sent by Superintendent Norm Glismann on Oct. 13. Then a in letter dated Oct. 24, Tecumseh Assistant Superintendent Paula Crew wrote Massie informing him why he was placed on paid leave.
“An incident occurred Wednesday, Oct. 12, which gave rise to a suspicion of substance abuse,” Crew says in the letter. “You did not show up for your seventh period class, and when school staff looked for you, you were in your classroom, standing, swaying back and forth with your eyes closed.”
“When they engaged you, you uncharacteristically appeared to process information slowly, your speech was slurred and you were unsteady on your feet,” Crew says in the letter.
The school district leaders declined to comment Monday. Glismann said in an email the alleged incident is a personnel issue.
“It is the district’s position that confidential personnel issues will not be shared and/or discussed with the media,” Glismann wrote in an email to the News-Sun.
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A substance screening results letter obtained by the News-Sun states a test came back negative. However, Glismann wrote in his letter he had concerns about the “validity” of the test because there was a long delay before it was administered.
“Yesterday afternoon, you were requested to submit to a drug test based on your slurred speech and unsteady gait,” Glismann wrote. “You did not agree to submit to the test for approximately two hours, which delayed the administration of the test for nearly five hours after the first request.”
A News-Sun investigation earlier this month revealed that only the Springfield City School District drug tests for new employees aside from bus drivers.
Parents outside the high school Monday said they weren’t aware of the allegations. Rebecca Fairchild, who has grandchildren at Tecumseh, said she believes teachers are role models.
“I don’t think it’s right,” Fairchild said. “They are there to show kids the right way to go and that is not right.”
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