A student reported the comment made during a first period class, and the sub was immediately removed from the classroom and questioned, Franks said in the letter. The substitute apologized and willingly left the building after only having contact with first-period students.
On Wednesday, school officials referred questions about the teacher to the Warren County Educational Service Center (ESC), which contracts with the school district for substitute teachers through the Southwest Ohio Council of Governments (COG).
“Any records, or personnel files, on substitutes would be located with the Warren County ESC,” Scott Marshall, the district’s communications coordinator, said in an email.
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“As for an incident report, given the substitute is not an employee of the district, our staff asked the substitute to leave the building, which was done so without incident. From there, we contact the Warren County ESC about the incident and request that the substitute not be included for any future schedulings,” Marshall added.
Tom Isaacs, ESC superintendent and COG board member, said the teacher will not be working as a substitute until investigations of the incident have been concluded.
“This substitute teacher has been blocked from taking any substitute jobs,” Isaacs said.
Isaacs said ESC officials would meet with the sub once police and the ESC have completed their investigations.
“We will make a decision whether this is a misunderstanding or rises to level of something more serious,” Isaacs said.
The district made Springboro police aware of the sub’s comment and conducted an internal investigation, according to Franks’ letter.
“No weapon was found, no students or staff were harmed, and Springboro Junior High School was not placed on lockdown,” Franks added in the letter.
In January, a 12-year-old student was placed on probation for making false alarms prompting a lockdown during a school dance.
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In response to a records request Wednesday, local police released a run sheet indicating Officer Aaron Nicley was called to the school at 9:24 a.m. Wednesday.
The police records release indicated other records were being withheld, as police were continuing to investigate.
On Tuesday, Marshall said the unidentified sub had worked in the district before with no reported incidents from students, parents or staff.
Isaacs said he was not aware of other reports or issues involving Smith.
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“Clearly the words that have been reported are unacceptable. That’s not something any school employee can say,” Isaacs said.
According to the district, the comment was not considered a credible threat, no weapon was found and there was no disruption to the school day.
Warren County Educational Service Center, through a partnership with the Southwest Ohio Council of Governments and Warren County Commission, provide substitute teachers to school districts in the area.
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