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Posted: 7:36 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012

Teachers involved in prank identified

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By Margo Rutledge Kissell

Four Belmont High School teachers on leave while school officials investigate an incident in which students were driven off campus to participate in a homecoming prank had clean personnel files before the incident.

Dayton Public School District officials refused to release the names of the four teachers, citing personnel issues.

The Dayton Daily News on Tuesday obtained the names and reviewed the personnel files of the teachers: Anna “Katy” Riddell, 34; Lawrence Jurosic, 29; Kathryn “Kate” Sanicky, 30; and Jason Geanuracos, 26.

There were no professional blemishes on their records except for the Oct. 9 letter placing them on paid administrative leave until further notice.

“This action is being taken against you until an investigation into a very serious matter has been completed,” district Human Resources Executive Director Lisa Lewis wrote. The teachers were told to refrain from visiting any school district property without prior approval.

Dayton Education Association President David Romick said Tuesday he wouldn’t comment on the incident during the district’s ongoing investigation.

“They’ll receive due process, which includes a hearing,” Romick said of the teachers. “Certainly they are entitled to and will receive representation through DEA,” he said. No hearing has been scheduled yet, according to the DEA and district officials.

District spokeswoman Jill Moberley said the teachers transported three students to Meadowdale High School on Oct. 3 as part of Spirit Week.

An incident report provided by the school says the students were transported to the school at about 6 p.m. to commit a homecoming prank in which they placed plastic forks in the lawn and paper cups on a fence. The report says that a Belmont student was punched in the face by a Meadowdale student during the prank.

The report does not indicate whether the teachers participated in the prank or if they were present for the assault. It says that police were not contacted about the incident.

Moberley said students are not allowed to be in employees’ personal vehicles without advance permission.

Moberley said the punishment would be up to the hearing officer, who would be one of the district’s attorneys. She said there will likely be disciplinary action against the students involved as well.

Riddell and Sanicky have taught at Belmont since 2009, Jurosic since 2008 and Geanuracos since 2010. All four teachers have one-year contracts that must be renewed annually.

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