As part of the agreement, Dammeyer will be paid the remainder of his salary for the 2012-13 school year. His salary is $62,006. He will not return to work for the rest of the year. Dammeyer previously had been disciplined for anger problems, according to his personnel file.
Fairborn Superintendent Dave Scarberry said the duct tape incident happened last month.
“The actions did happen, so we’re able to work out a solution to the issue,” Scarberry said. “This is the solution.”
Dammeyer declined to comment when reached Friday afternoon. A mathematics teacher at Baker Middle School, Dammeyer was in his 12th year teaching in the district.
The incident took place around 7:50 a.m. Dec. 6, according to an incident report filed by the Fairborn Police Department. Dammeyer became irritated with a male seventh-grade student who was tapping his fingers on his desk, and he proceeded to tape the student’s wrists together using duct tape.
According to the report, the student said his fingers started to go numb and his hands began to turn purple before he was able to remove the duct tape himself after two or three minutes.
Three students provided school officials virtually identical written statements about the incident, the report said. Later the same day, several teachers were involved in a conversation about the incident in the teacher’s lounge. They advised Dammeyer that his behavior was not acceptable for a teacher, to which Dammeyer replied, “They can fire me if they want,” the report said.
The student’s mother, Denise Wright, declined to comment on the school board’s action.
Dammeyer’s personnel records show he was disciplined in May 2007 for “escalating a controllable situation into one of uncontrol.” He also violated board policy and was told to ensure that students are supervised at all times.
Records indicate Dammeyer was to complete anger management training before the 2007-08 school year and was given a mentor.
Law enforcement officials announced Dec. 17 that their investigation of the duct tape incident was closed. The Greene County Prosecutor’s Office as well as the Fairborn City Prosecutor’s Office declined to file criminal charges.
Scarberry said the Ohio Department of Education’s office of professional conduct and Greene County Children Services are both investigating the matter.
Monica Schiffler, public relations specialist for Greene County Children Services, said the agency is not able to discuss whether it is involved in a specific case.
John Charlton, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education, would not confirm whether ODE has received a referral or if it is conducting an investigation, per its policy. Dammeyer has no history of disciplinary action with the ODE, Charlton said. Dammeyer holds a five-year professional high school teaching license that is valid through June 30, 2014.
In his resignation letter dated Jan. 16, Dammeyer said, “I am thankful for the opportunity to teach in the district and I am proud of the numerous accomplishments that I achieved for Fairborn City Schools.”
About the Author