One of the stipulations in the partial settlement reached between the Dennis family and the Mount Vernon Board of Education was that the school system was to provide training to teachers on state and church issues.
Back in August of 2009, two attorneys—David Millstone and William Steele—gave a presentation to the teachers titled “Religion in the Public Schools.” (At some point there is to be a second presentation on the issue by Melissa Rogers, director of the Center for Religion and Public Affairs at Wake Forest University Divinity School.)
(The presentation given to Mount Vernon City Schools’ teaching staff last year.)
Although the August 2009 presentation was previously reported on by the Mount Vernon News, for those interested in more details about the presentation and the viewpoints of the school district’s attorneys, the following is a copy of the computer slides used for the presentation:
(In response to a request from AccountabilityInTheMedia.com, Millstone provided clarification on a couple points—see copy of email (80.68 KB PDF). )
On the topic of religion in the public schools, a federal judge earlier this year handed down a strongly worded decision:
“Ironically, while teachers in the Poway Unified School District encourage students to celebrate diversity and value thinking for one’s self, Defendants apparently fear their students are incapable of dealing with diverse viewpoints that include God’s place in American history and culture.
“But to assert that because [Bradley] Johnson was a teacher, he had no First Amendment protections in his classroom for his own speech would ignore a half-century of other Supreme Court precedent.”
The season finale of the police and legal drama Law & Order deals with teachers who have had their careers harmed by “nuisance complaints” from students.
One of the teachers included in the episode “Rubber Room” shares something in common with suspended Mount Vernon Middle School teacher John Freshwater—he was accused of branding a cross onto a student with a Tesla coil.
During the course of the episode, the police interview several teachers who might be able to provide a lead on a suspect. All of the teachers tell stories about being wronged by the system. The first teacher the police talk with is science teacher Ron Kozlowski:
Teacher: “It’s absurd, I didn’t brand anybody. You know what a Tesla coil is?”
Investigator: “Yes. [pointing] That.”
Teacher: “Correct. I assume you know what it does?”
Investigator: “It generates an electrical current.”
(A teacher on Law & Order, “Rubber Room,” describes using the Tesla coil on students.)
Teacher: “Good job. Last year, as I’ve done hundreds of times before, I did a little demonstration by passing the current over the arms of my students, left a little redness on the skin. Next thing I know there is a complaint filed that I ‘branded crosses.’ I was suspended pending an arbitration.”
Investigator: “One of your students wrote about you on his blog. He said you were a church freak.”
Teacher: “I’m a religious person, I don’t make any bones about that.”
Investigator: “We’re trying to identify the student who wrote this about you on his blog.”
Second investigator: “He probably gets A’s in English, drives a silver Honda.”
Teacher: “No. Doesn’t ring a bell.”
Investigator: “What about the student who filed the complaint, you have his name?”
Teacher: “There was more than one student. The Department of Education wouldn’t tell me their names. Sorry you had to drive all the way out here.”
Investigator: “Sorry you ended up out here.”
Teacher: “After four months of suspension I quit New York and took a job here. Half the salary, twice the commute, but at least I’m teaching.”
A person with the username "seabiscuit" on mvohio.net pointed out the connection between the Law & Order episode and the local controversy. "How about that!" seabiscuit wrote. "This situation has now been woven into a television show!"
John Freshwater’s attorney is requesting that the administrative hearing be closed to the public and the media. In the motioned submitted Tuesday, attorney R. Kelly Hamilton expresses concern that the eventual jurors for the upcoming federal trial may be influenced by media coverage of the hearing:
“Upon each hearing date multiple media sources have attended the hearing and made report in various news outlets. The change in circumstances is presented in that potential jury members could be exposed to media reports that may unduly influence, create or lead to bias, detected or undetected through voir dire. The cognitive influences of primacy and recency potentially created by media reports could jeopardize John Freshwater’s position in the federal trial as eventual jurors may be influenced or biased as a result of the media reports emanating from the remaining hearing testimony to be taken in this matter. An example of such influence against John Freshwater is included as Exhibit A wherein John Freshwater received an unsolicited letter of opinion from a person not familiar to John Freshwater. Media attention in this matter has been constant and at this juncture the teacher, John Freshwater, may be further unduly harmed by uninformed recipients of journalism that is designed to sell news rather than accurately present a fair and balanced report.” (Emphasis added.)
In addition to concern about media influence on jurors, Hamilton stated that other reasons for closing the hearing are: “Articulated witness apprehension.” “The prospect of revealing the anonymous source identity.”
The hearing is set to resume on April 29, according to the Mount Vernon News. The hearing will be taking place at the Mount Vernon City Schools Central Office at 300 Newark Road.
UPDATE 4-28-10 at 4:20 p.m.:
The hearing scheduled to resume on Thursday will be open to the public. Referee R. Lee Shepherd issued his decision Wednesday on the request to close the hearing.
“There being no statutory rights to close (make private) a contract termination hearing once a public hearing has been requested, the teacher’s motion is denied,” Shepherd stated.
Self-described as Christian, the Dennis family is suing their son’s former teacher for—among other things—having a Bible in the classroom.
Bible on the desk
Up until five months ago, the Dennises attempted to distance themselves from the controversy surrounding the school’s order for John Freshwater to remove his Bible. The Dennis’ lawsuit in 2008 did not make mention of Freshwater’s personal Bible, instead it stated that the teacher “kept several Bibles in his classroom which were not for his personal use.”
April 6, 2010, federal judge Gregory Frost granted the Dennis’ November 16, 2009, request to include Freshwater’s personal Bible in the suit.
The Dennis’ attorney Douglas Mansfield maintains that the family is not opposed to religion. “As I think you know, the Dennises are a religious family,” Mansfield told AccountabilityInTheMedia.com, “but they believe—as our Constitution provides—that it's not appropriate for a teacher in a public school classroom to impose his or her own religious beliefs onto the students.”
Freshwater’s attorneys challenged Mansfield’s initial attempt to insert Freshwater’s personal Bible into the suit. In explaining why the Bible should be permitted in the suit, Mansfield stated, in a document filed with the court on January 14, 2010:
“Freshwater remains liable for the other Bible on display in his classroom throughout the 2007-2008 school year. […] the Dennises are not foreclosed from raising claims against Freshwater merely because they did not present them in a complaint to the school district. […] Therefore, the Dennises have not waived arguments pertaining to the Bible on Freshwater’s desk, and it remains viable evidence in proving Freshwater’s violations of the Establishment Clause.”
Freshwater testified in an ongoing administrative hearing that he prayed with his family and made what he believes is a constitutional decision to leave the Bible on the desk. Freshwater testified that he did not teach religious beliefs in his classroom.
The Dennises requested summary judgment, but Frost left the matter to a jury to decide.
Box of FCA Bibles
The Dennises also objected to a box of Bibles stored in the back of the classroom. Frost described, in a court document, the circumstances surrounding these Bibles:
“[There was] a box of Bibles in the back corner of the classroom that was stored there for the student group the Fellowship of Christian Athletes […] Freshwater was the faculty advisor of the FCA for approximately 17 years. The box of Bibles were utilized during the FCA meetings.”
Mansfield argued, January 14, that just because Zachary Dennis was a member of FCA that did not mean his parents are prohibited from objecting to the box of Bibles:
“Further, Zach’s participation in FCA does not defeat the Establishment Clause cause of action because Freshwater inappropriately displayed and maintained those Bibles in his classroom outside the times that Zach participated in FCA. Such exposure contradicts Zach’s parents’ constitutional right to provide their child religious teaching.”
Frost wasn’t convinced enough to issue a summary judgment on the matter, “[T]he Court is not sure that a box of Bible’s in the corner of a room with many other boxes of stored items constitutes a ‘display.’”
The matter will be left to a jury to decide.
Ten Commandments
The third Establishment Clause item that the Dennises requested summary judgment on was the Ten Commandments posters that were in Freshwater’s classroom.
Freshwater removed the posters when requested, in writing, to do so by school administration.
Freshwater’s attorneys argued that the poster on the bulletin board was placed there by members of FCA and that the members had school permission to post club related materials. The other posters were book covers used to cover-up an interior window. According to his attorneys, the book covers were provided by school administration for that purpose. The covers also contained inspirational quotes from famous individuals.
Frost left the matter to a jury to decide.
Standing—the right to file a lawsuit
In order to sue, the individuals must have “standing,” that is, they must be personally affected by the matter over which they are suing. West's Encyclopedia of American Law defines “standing” as the following:
“Standing, sometimes referred to as standing to sue, is the name of the federal law doctrine that focuses on whether a prospective plaintiff can show that some personal legal interest has been invaded by the defendant. It is not enough that a person is merely interested as a member of the general public in the resolution of the dispute. The person must have a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy.”
The Dennises state in their lawsuit that they are Christians. The Bibles and Ten Commandments, if seen as religious articles, are from their own religion. In order to have standing, the Dennis’ legal interests have to have been invaded by the presence of these items.
In granting the Dennises standing, Frost stated, “Plaintiffs correctly explain that they possess standing based upon the uncontroverted fact that ZD was exposed to Freshwater’s Bible, the box of Bibles, and the Ten Commandments postings, something he could not avoid, and Plaintiffs claim offense at such exposure.”
The word “offense” or “offended” was not used by the Dennis family in describing their reaction to the above mentioned items. In response to an inquiry from AccountabilityInTheMedia.com, Mansfield explained, “As I read the Court's opinion, the use of the term ‘offense’ simply relates to the Dennises’ claim that the religious materials in Mr. Freshwater's classroom violated their constitutional rights.”
(Click here to read Mansfield’s full response to questions from AccountabilityInTheMedia.com.)
Frost did not address the issue of whether it is possible for Christians to have their constitutional rights violated by the presence of objects from their own religion.
In Washegesic Pub. Sch. (6th Cir. 1994), a case involving the display of a portrait of Jesus Christ in a public school, the court ruled that the portrait had to be removed, stating:
“Christ is central only to Christianity, and his portrait has a proselytizing, affirming effect that some non-believers find deeply offensive. […] It is the rights of these few that the Establishment Clause protects in this case.” (Emphasis added).
Tesla coil and defamation
Other requests for summary judgment went beyond the Establishment Clause issues.
Frost left it to a jury to decide if Zachary was capable of consenting to the Tesla coil experiment. Frost decided that Freshwater gave full disclosure to Zachary regarding Freshwater’s knowledge of any effects of the demonstration and, thus, any consent was not negated by mistake or misrepresentation:
“Freshwater correctly argues, he testified that he had no knowledge that the experiment would cause ZD, or any other student, burning and pain. Further, the evidence before the Court indicates that the Tesla coil experiment was conducted on hundreds of students with no injury. Plaintiffs have failed to bring forth any evidence that would tend to show that Freshwater knew that the Tesla coil experiment could cause the burning and pain to which Plaintiffs refer.”
Frost ruled in the Dennis’ favor on Freshwater’s counter claims of defamation:
“Plaintiffs argue that they are entitled to summary judgment on each of these allegedly defamatory statements because (1) many of the statements were not made by Plaintiffs, (2) some of the statements are entitled to an absolute privilege, (3) some of the statements are entitled to a qualified privilege, and (4) Freshwater has introduced no evidence that the remaining statements were made with actual malice, which is required because he is a limited purpose public figure. This Court agrees.”
John Freshwater used his three minutes of public participation time to update the Mount Vernon Board of Education on recent developments related to his employment hearing.
“I thought the hearing was about to end sometime last month but the proceeding changed again because somebody sent an anonymous letter containing some photographs of some items from my classroom,” Freshwater said. “Last week another anonymous delivery was made that contained approximately 300 photographs of items that were in my room.”
“On January 14, 2009 my attorney subpoenaed from the board, Mr. Short and the board’s attorney, all the materials from my classroom,” Freshwater said. “The board’s attorney indicated to my attorney that the board did not have anything from my classroom.”
Also speaking during public participation was Vicky Fitzgerald. She asked questions regarding the school district’s finances and board member Steve Thompson’s involvement with The Community Council For Free Expression.
The financial challenge facing the district was the forefront issue leading up to the last election. The 2008-2009 budget projected that the district was going to have approximately three million more in expenditures than income. For more information, see previous coverage of the three forums held with the candidates:
Superintendent Steve Short and the board members did not respond to any comments made by community members.
The board approved putting a renewal levy on the ballot.
UPDATE 2-9-10 at 3:30 P.M.:
An article published today by the Mount Vernon News provides some additional information regarding the missing evidence. The article cites board attorney David Millstone as saying that Freshwater and his attorney have been provided access to all the materials from Freshwater’s classroom that the board has in its possession.
The PDF file includes several photographs included with the letter. The letter is as follows:
John:
There is so much more you need to know. For now keep these pictures and copies of things you might remember and this note sent to Steve Short. This is not how this situation was supposed to go and there’s alot of regret.
January 11, 2010
Steve Short:
I once trusted you and thought you would be a real good leader. You allowed yourself to become part of some dirty, dirty, dirty, people. I know some of what’s been done. Understand it will be revealed what I know if you do not stop this framing of John Freshwater as a bad man. I cannot stand the lies and deceit that have been done and now is the time to stand up for what’s right. There is proof where these pictures and copies were taken. These pictures are reduced for now but if necessary these pictures and all the others can show the world the full view which will display the location of these books and papers and the other things taken from Freshwater’s classroom. You and this dirty group of people tried to take down one man and ended up hurting the careers of more than just Freshwater. It is wrong what had been done and beware that I don’t tell all to. Remember the do unto others as you would want done unto you may just be done if you let this keep up. You cannot be trusted alone with these pictures so I am sending this letter and thes pictures to others to.
The following is from the request, by Kelly Hamilton, to close the hearing:
Presently, it is my desire to close the hearing to the public and by this letter request to do the same. Currently there is someone or more than one person who has information that they anonymously want to inject. As discussed during our conference on January 15, 2010, the anonymous person is looking for a reaction and has likely received a measure of information from the news media or other sources from within the hearing. Strategically it has been decided the anonymous source will more likely appear if they do not know the results of their submission. The greatest likelihood for identifying the anonymous source is to isolate the boundaries or variables by limiting their access to further information.
The PDF file contains a copy of the letter. The letter is as follows:
John,
Hope the other stuff helped. There are at least two of us that know about how your stuff was kept at the MS and Central Office. Only recently was your stuff moved. An attorney said this black bag should be returned so here it is with about 300 pictures from two boxes. A blown-whistle law would give protection but need more time. Able to help again more soon and gurantee help before trial. Please understand. Keep your faith. They don’t want the truth.
Pastor Don Matolyak said that the written information he provided to the police for this report was his “journaling and was not originally designed to be a police report.”
Freshwater’s letter is a written version of the comments he made to the board during its meeting. Included in the letter is the last portion of his comments that he was unable to give due to the three minute time limit.
The Mount Vernon News article—linked to in previous update—includes a response from the board’s attorney regarding the “black bag” find.
There used to be a poster hanging in the Mount Vernon Middle School library that stated “HE’S GOT the WHOLE WORLD in HIS HANDS.” (See previous article “He’s got a Poster at the School.” )
During the recent school board meeting on January 11—the board meetings are held in the middle school library—I noticed the poster was gone. Did someone at the school have a problem with the poster?
Perhaps someone realized that if this poster was going to be allowed at the school then maybe the poster that was in John Freshwater’s classroom was OK. (Freshwater had a poster that showed George W. Bush and his cabinet with their heads bowed.)
(The photo to the left shows a vacant spot on a middle school library wall where the poster used to be. The photo at the right was taken September 2009.)
New Mount Vernon Board of Education members Paula Barone and Steve Thompson took the oath of office at the board’s Monday organizational meeting. Prior vice-president Dr. Margie Bennett was nominated by Jody Goetzman, seconded by Thompson, to be the new president. Thompson nominated Goetzman, seconded by Barone, to be the new vice-president.
The organizational meeting was followed by the first regular meeting of the year.
The following testimony took place 10:03 A.M.—3:54 P.M. on 12/29/09 and 9:06 A.M.—4:36 P.M. on 12/30/09.
School board attorney David Millstone presented new evidence during the cross-examination of John Freshwater—documents possibly from Freshwater’s classroom. What didn’t turn up was evidence that Freshwater would like to see—his lesson plans and teacher edition textbooks with his handwritten notes.
Freshwater stated that these documents, which he thinks are in the possession of the Mount Vernon City Schools, would provide exculpatory and exonerating evidence.
The cross-examination of Freshwater began on Tuesday morning. Prior to Freshwater taking the stand, a previously unavailable witness gave a brief testimony regarding what the witness said was alterations on one of the board’s exhibits. (See previous article “Email Was Altered, According to Witness in John Freshwater Hearing.” )
(The Freshwater hearing is taking place in the Knox County Service Center.)
Student surveys/data sheets
The new evidence brought by Millstone included two documents that supposedly contain data collected about student Zachary Dennis at the beginning of the school year. Freshwater stated that he did not use this form.
Another document was a “multiple intelligence” survey. Freshwater stated that he also did not use that survey.
The title should have included an attribution for the assertion being made in it. Example: “Dispatch headline writer says Mount Vernon science teacher used survey that addressed faith.”
The caption provided by the Dispatch for a photo of Freshwater, included in the article, also contained misleading information: “Teacher John Freshwater at first denied in a hearing yesterday that he had surveyed students.” This incorrectly implies that Freshwater later changed his testimony. Freshwater never acknowledged using the survey.
Both the headline for the Dispatch article and the description with the photo were probably not written by the reporter, Narciso.
Several of the other “new” pieces of evidence were actually quite old. One was a letter dated 1994 that had at the top “to John Freshwater.” Another document was from 1988. Freshwater said that he had not seen these documents before.
The new documents were shown to Freshwater, however, the board has not made a motion to enter the documents as exhibits. Freshwater’s attorney, Kelly Hamilton, stated the following day that he will be objecting to the documents’ admission unless the board brings someone to authenticate them.
Answers in Genesis
Millstone questioned Freshwater about his prior testimony regarding Answers in Genesis. There wasn’t anything new to cover on this subject due to the thoroughness of attorney Hamilton during direct examination.
When Dispatch reporter Narciso wrote about the cross-examination, he expressed his opinion that Freshwater changed his testimony: “Asked if he referred students to Answers in Genesis, a religious Web site, Freshwater said no. Later, he reversed that statement, admitting that he had. ‘I'm not sure that you're taking it out of context,’ he said.”
Freshwater did not reverse his statement—what he did was try to clarify for Millstone what he meant by his testimony. The core of Freshwater’s testimony did not change. At issue was whether or not the word “referred” was the best description of what Freshwater did in regards to AIG.
Freshwater testified that the website answersingenesis.org showed up on a list of internet search results that was on the screen in class—a student later asked for permission to use the computer lab to look up the website. Freshwater allowed the student to do so. The second situation in which Freshwater “referred” students to AIG was when Freshwater took a van load of students and adults to the AIG museum.
Praying with students
One of the affidavits that Freshwater prepared—with the intent of providing it to the H.R. On Call investigators—deals with the subject of praying with students. Freshwater said that HROC should have asked some additional questions on the subject but since they didn’t he was providing some clarification in his written response.
In the transcript Freshwater made of the HROC interview, he says that he does pray with Fellowship of Christian Athlete students because he is praying all of the time. He also says that his praying could be oral or not.
In the portions of the affidavit that Freshwater referred to while testifying, he clarified that the prayers when he was around students were silent “Nehemiah arrow prayers.”
Tesla coil
Freshwater testified that he was surprised with how much the Tesla coil was discussed during the HROC interview—because the matter had already been resolved in January of that year. (See previous article “Tesla Coil Matter Was Officially Resolved January 2008.” )
Before touching volunteers with the spark from the Tesla coil, Freshwater said that he would first demonstrate the device on his own arm. He said that he would hold his arm up and apply the spark to a single area briefly.
Most students also only had the spark touched to their arm briefly before pulling away, Freshwater said. Of those that didn’t pull away, he would make the motion or movement of an “x” with the device but was not trying to make an “x” mark on their arm.
Freshwater said that he has not branded or burned any student—there is no evidence that he has harmed any student during the years that he used the device.
LEGO bricks
Millstone asked Freshwater if he ever used LEGO bricks in his class. Freshwater replied that if he has used them it has been a long time—he could not recall if he put LEGO bricks out on the table and asked students if the bricks could put themselves together.
Following these questions, Millstone played a recording of an interview from April 25, 2009— Right Remedy hosted by Dr. Patrick Johnston—in which Freshwater was also asked about the LEGO bricks:
Johnston: “And tell us about the LEGOs, I thought that was fascinating.”
Freshwater: “Students showed me, many years ago, and I used it up to 2003, these LEGOs, he actually did it for his senior paper, he did it and showed it to me, it is a very simple demonstration, gathering up a bunch of LEGOs, and he made a demonstration. He made an airplane or a car out of the LEGOs. And he had a bunch of other ones, same pieces, and he scattered them all on the floor, put them in a box and threw them on the floor. And he asked the kids to watch them there. And we watched them for a while and he said, if we watch them for a day will they form into this car or airplane? The kids said no. If we watched them for five to ten years, would they turn into this airplane—no. Or anything like this airplane—no. So he strung it out to ten thousand years, to millions of years, what is the chance of this becoming this airplane or this automobile? The kids all agreed it won’t happen, and then he, he, we, [sic] compare it to the eyeball, what is the complexity of the eyeball compared to the very simplicity of LEGOs coming together and forming a car like structure. And we all know that just a simple cell or groups of cells forming an eyeball is so complex with these DNA molecules, that the chance of that happening is slim to none.”
When the recording was done playing, Freshwater said that it was the student who did the demonstration with the LEGO bricks.
During redirect from his attorney, Freshwater explained that when Millstone asked him about the LEGO bricks he did not recall anything at all about the project—when the audio was played that refreshed his memory.
Freshwater said the interview itself was preceded by an off air discussion with the host about the student’s LEGO project—which helped him remember when he went on the air.
Expelled movie
Freshwater offered his 2007-2008 class an extra credit project that involved watching the movie Expelled: “Watch and exam [sic] the film ‘Expelled-Ben Stein’ and explain why it is important to examine this film objectively and not let bias affect your observations.”
Freshwater said that prior to giving the assignment he had not seen the film but did understand it to be a good science movie. The movie, he said, provided evidence of evolution and evidence for other ideas. Ultimately, he believed the movie to be about examining data objectively and not letting bias affect observations. Only two students did this extra credit project, Freshwater said.
(When student Zachary Dennis testified he said that he and a friend went and watched the movie the weekend that it came out. Dennis said that he was accompanied by his parents.)
Bible on the desk
Freshwater never removed the Bible from his desk—even when the school year ended. Freshwater said it wasn’t until late July or early August of 2008 that Superintendent Steve Short ended up giving the Bible directly to him.
The directions from school administration concerning the Bible were confusing, Freshwater said. He did admit that on two occasions—April 7, 2008 and April 16, 2008—he understood that he was supposed to remove the Bible from his desk.
Freshwater said that he prayed with his family and made what he believes is a constitutional decision to leave the Bible on the desk.
After April 16, 2008, Principal Bill White did not tell him that he had a continuing duty to remove the Bible—no one told him after that date that he still had to remove the Bible, Freshwater said.
He was never informed by White, Short or any other administrator that he could file a grievance, Freshwater said.
As evidence of his legal right to have the Bible on his desk, Freshwater pointed out that in a recording of Short, the superintendent acknowledged that another teacher, Lori Miller, could keep her Bible on her desk.
Additional statements by Freshwater
• At the time of his deposition for a federal case he understood the Tesla coil to have been disposed of in a landfill. He learned from his attorney, after making that statement, that his attorney hadn’t thrown it out but instead had given it to the board’s attorney.
• There is a difference between trying to find the truth and trying to prove a point. The board is trying to prove a point—they are trying to say that he is a Christian fanatic and that he was not teaching his students properly.
• The master contract states—“Article 4: Teaching Conditions: Individual Rights”—“The Board fully recognizes all personal rights and freedoms granted to teachers by the Constitution and the laws of the State of Ohio and the United States, and will abide by all laws that pertain to the teachers it employs. Further, the Board recognizes that teachers have the right to engage in a variety of personal activities and the Board will not take disciplinary action against a teacher unless a teacher’s personal activities interfere with the teacher’s performance of his/her contractual duties.”
• His beliefs did not interfere with his performance of his duties. He did his job, a very good job—look at his students’ OAT scores.
• He believes he had a right to engage in the activities on the town square. (See First Amendment to the United States Constitution: “Congress shall make no law […] abridging […] the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for redress of grievances.”)
• After April 16, 2008 he did not get much help from the union. The union attempted to get him to sign papers that said they were not responsible for helping him—he did not sign the papers.
• His son attended a Catholic school for a year—he would not have sent his son there if he thought ill of Catholics.
• HROC investigators were “trying to prove a point.” The “school board based their resolution almost strictly off that poor, poor report.”
• It is the administration’s responsibility to see to it that the contract was followed regarding the investigation.
• He received a phone call in June 2008 telling him he might want to look at the newspaper—the investigative report was released. That was how he found out HROC had concluded their investigation.
• The contract states that he “will” be given an opportunity to submit a comprehensive written response.
• There have been times during his testifying that he was “guarded”—he was not trying to be evasive although it may look that way. (For one reporter’s perspective on this topic, see Pamela Schehl’s article “Referee intervenes in hearing” published in the Mount Vernon News.)
• He would like to see Dispatch reporter Narciso go through forty hours, like himself, of sitting in the witness chair.
• Regarding the 15 affidavits he prepared in May 2008 that incorrectly list Franklin county as the place they were sworn: There is nothing in the contract that says his written response has to be a sworn statement. The location that they were signed does not make them defective under the contract.
• The two and a half hour interview with HROC did not cover everything that he was ultimately accused of.
• The Will Graham poster was placed there by FCA students—he understood that to be appropriate based on prior administrator Jeff Kuntz from 18 years ago.
• He did not talk about the Will Graham Celebration in the classroom.
• Prior to the HROC interview he did not know that he had rights under the collective bargaining agreement.
• He has assigned a project to students that involved having them describe an object in order to see how careful their observation abilities are. He did not recall if he ever used a trilobite as the object.
• He has taught about trilobites using the textbook—that they were extinct 400 million years ago. He never told students that the trilobites have been found with footprints or sandal prints.
• When asked if he has an opinion about whether the Bible provides that homosexuality is a sin, he responded that he did not have an opinion. (Note: The question was also worded one or two other ways, but I didn’t catch what the wording was.)
• The reason he went on the radio last week was to extend his hand out to the present board in order to try to resolve this issue. He wanted them to be aware that they had broken the master contract and that they had been missing information. He also said that he tried to track down all five members of the board and personally give them copies of all fifteen of his affidavits.
Legal expenses
Freshwater is currently suspended without pay. For those that would like to help with his legal expenses, checks can be made out to The Community Council For Free Expression (C.C.F.F.E.) and sent to
Trinity Assembly of God
1051 Beech St.
Mount Vernon OH 43050
For those that would like to help with the legal expenses of the school board—just pay your taxes.
The following testimony took place between 9:14 A.M. and 9:49 A.M. on 12/29/09.
Former coach for Kenyon College, Ricky Warren, testified that an email used as an exhibit by the Mount Vernon Board of Education was altered. When shown a copy of the email prior to appearing at the hearing, Warren told John Freshwater’s attorney “[the email] looks a little screwy.”
The subject of the email was Warren speaking at the middle school for a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting. The message thread of the email included the prior email that was signed simply “Freshwater.”
Teachers that monitor FCA are supposed to leave the inviting of speakers to the students. Freshwater’s daughter, Jordan, previously testified that she was the one who invited Warren to speak at FCA.
Warren explained that the format of the email was not the way he normally writes. If he has been corresponding with someone for a while he does not include the recipient’s name at the top.
Another problem Warren saw was that the punctuation of the email doesn’t consistently follow the British style. Warren, who moved to the United States from Jamaica, has only spent the last nine years in the U.S.
In response to a question from Freshwater’s attorney, Kelly Hamilton, Warren agreed it looks like someone may have backspaced Jordan’s name off the end of the email.
The email also lacks Warren’s signature, which he said would be unusual for him to do.
Before moving to Connecticut, Warren attended church with Freshwater in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Warren said Freshwater mentioned on one occasion, at church, that his daughter Jordan wanted to speak with Warren—the extent of the discussion was that Jordan was shy about talking with Warren.
Warren reiterated that it was Jordan who invited him to speak at FCA. “The whole communication has been between me and her,” Warren said.
***
Warren is a 2004 graduate of Mount Vernon Nazarene University—click here for photos from his time as a player for MVNU men’s soccer team.
Science teacher John Freshwater was suspended without pay in the summer of 2008—the decision to do so was based primarily on a faulty investigation.
Freshwater testified recently, in the ongoing administrative hearing, that the investigators did not provide him with an opportunity to give a comprehensive written response to the allegations that were made against him. Mount Vernon City Schools’ master contract required the investigators to give him that opportunity before they completed their report.
H.R. On Call, Inc.
The firm hired to conduct the investigation, H.R. On Call, Inc., interviewed Freshwater on May 15, 2008. Freshwater, referring to a transcript he made of the recorded interview, said that in the meeting they discussed scheduling a second interview and that the union representative even said he would have an opportunity to give a comprehensive written response. (He said that shortly after the meeting he gave a copy of the recording to Bill White to give to HROC and that he gave a copy to the union.)
While waiting for the second interview, Freshwater prepared his written statement which consisted of individual affidavits responding to the allegations that he was aware of at the time. He explained that he prepared the written response so that HROC would have all the information to make a sound decision.
Also at the May 15 meeting, Freshwater said he discussed his intent to provide the names of additional people to be interviewed. The school contract required that all witnesses identified by the teacher be interviewed and written statements be obtained from the witnesses if possible.
The second interview never took place.
Freshwater testified that it was from the newspaper he learned the investigation had been completed. “Mr. Freshwater found out in the newspaper, not from the school or investigators,” according to Levi Stickle at cfacts.
Freshwater stated that the HROC report was not complete or neutral.
Bible on the desk
The year and a half controversy began with a complaint about Freshwater having a Bible on his classroom desk. The family that made this complaint has yet to be publicly identified. (For coverage of the controversy when it first started, see the article by Jami Kinton published in The Mainsfield News Journal, April 17, 2008.)
Freshwater received his Bible as a wedding present 29 years ago. While explaining why the Bible is so much of an inspiration to him, he became teary-eyed and had to pause. The Bible has many emotional associations for him—knowing that it is there helped him get through the day.
He wondered why the school permitted Lori Miller to have a Bible on her desk but yet would not treat him the same. “There should not be any difference,” Freshwater said.
Freshwater stated that the written and oral instructions from Principal Bill White were confusing regarding what he was supposed to do with the Bible. All items that White clearly identified as needing removed from the room were removed, Freshwater said.
Freshwater said that he never endangered any student during his time as a teacher—did not brand a religious symbol on anyone and never saw any evidence of harm from his use of the Tesla coil.
One of Freshwater’s early performance evaluations directs him to “work closer with Jeff George in core course curriculum in physical sciences.” Freshwater said that he did and that is where he learned to use the Tesla coil.
An evaluation from October 8, 1999 mentions the Tesla coil being used in his class. Freshwater said that the evaluator, former Principal Jeff Kuntz, would have seen the hands on demonstration that allowed students to touch the spark from the device.
Freshwater characterized Kuntz testimony, of not remembering, as going “neutral.”
Fellowship of Christian Athletes / Alleged exorcism
During Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings, Freshwater explained, he would be at the back of the room eating his lunch and sometimes reading a newspaper. He said that he did not exceed his role as monitor—did not lead or conduct prayer, did not initiate having the speakers come, did not say anything about removing Satan from anyone.
Freshwater said that he does pray silently on many different occasions throughout the day, referring to them as a Nehemiah “arrow prayers.” Anyone that thinks he prays out loud with the students should get an audio recording, Freshwater said.
He was not aware of any rule that prohibited him from talking to the FCA speakers when he saw them out in the community. (One example he gave was running into Father Hammond at a CareNet banquet. Since the students had already mentioned having Hammond come to speak, Freshwater brought the subject up with Hammond with the intent of finding out when he was coming.)
Freshwater said that he never mentioned anything about removing Satan from anyone’s body. Zachary Dennis had claimed this, even giving the description of Freshwater having his hands raised above his head.
Earlier in his testimony, Freshwater presented documentation that countered Dennis’ claim. The document “from Knox Community Hospital show[ed] that he was in therapy at the time, because of a 'Smoke Jumping' injury, and couldn't raise his hand above his head,” according to Levi Stickle at cfacts.
During the last few minutes of direct examination from his attorney, Freshwater stated that if the medical records show that Dennis is lying, Dennis cannot be believed on anything else.
“Mr. Freshwater taught additional subject areas that are not included in the eighth grade American [sic] Content Standards, including but not limited to: thermodynamics, the periodic table, the big bang theory and the creation of the universe. By using class time to explore these subjects, Mr. Freshwater failed to properly instruct his students in the approved eighth grade American [sic] Content Standards. This serves as a disadvantage to his students, as the Mount Vernon City School District is built upon a progressive learning model, where each grade builds upon the curriculum standards of the courses in earlier grades.”
Freshwater pointed out that the textbooks provided by the school include mention of the big bang theory. One of the textbooks also contains a two page spread with the periodic table. No one had ever told him that there were things in the textbooks that he could not teach or that the students shouldn’t look at certain pages.
There are some things that he teaches as background information so that the students will be able to grasp other concepts. An example he gave was teaching the kids about the basics of cells and atoms—the students need to have an understanding of size, from atom to universe. He said that sometimes the students think that atoms are larger than cells.
In order to make sure that students pass the OAT test, Freshwater said he does review material from the sixth and seventh grades. His response to whether or not his students were taught properly—look at the OAT scores.
During his most recent year teaching, his students met and surpassed state testing standards. Freshwater’s students outdid all other eighth grade science classes at Mount Vernon Middle School.
Additional statements by Freshwater
• Never had a negative evaluation; one of the evaluations says “there is evidence of mutual respect”, “John goes out of his way to keep parents informed”, “he has a good grasp of the standards” and “he understands his subjects well.”
• Mount Vernon City Schools puts a lot of weight on the OAT scores—they are a test driven school.
• Did not teach the meaning of Good Friday or Easter in his classroom.
• Never said opposites in magnetism attract and that it should be that way for humans as well.
• The Giraffe and Woodpecker worksheets were created by a former student; up until he stopped using them in 2003 they were used to show examples of improper use of scientific method. (These documents were submitted to HROC by Paula Barone.)
• He used stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul with the goal of providing moral or philosophical growth. (Ohio Revised Code 3313.601 states “No board of education shall prohibit a classroom teacher from providing in the teacher’s classroom reasonable periods of time for activities of a moral, philosophical, or patriotic theme.”)
• One of the evaluations talks about his “unconditionals” in a positive manner; the assignment, although extra credit, was for students to learn about unconditional love by helping someone without expecting anything in return from that person.
• The Watchmaker video was emailed to him; he watched it on his computer before school with his daughter and another person. His daughter Jordan showed it at FCA.
• His previous testimony regarding referring about a dozen students to Answers in Genesis needed clarifying; what he had been talking about was taking a van load of students and adults to the creation museum in Kentucky.
• His previous testimony about hydrosphere being a theory was incorrect; hydrosphere is only a hypothesis.
• It is permissible to allow students to debate creation and evolution; this debate was only held in one period during the school year 07-08 and was something these students wanted to do. His involvement was instructing them to research their position, giving them a few rules and supervising the debate to keep it civil.
• The HROC investigators did not ask him why he had the books, which were critical of evolution, in his classroom cupboard; he did not teach from these books or read them during class. He received most or all of them as gifts.
• People should not make assumption about someone based on the books that person owns.
• He did not make assumptions about Dr. Lynda Weston, former Director of Teaching & Learning, based on the books in her office. One of the books, which had her name on the inside cover, was The Case Against Standardized Testing—claims made in the book include “high scores often signify relatively superficial thinking” and “many of the leading tests were never intended to measure teaching or learning.”
• He received the Colin Powell/George Bush poster through his school mailbox. Two of his children are in the military, with one of them expecting to go to Afghanistan.
• His statement about referring Zachary Dennis to answersingenesis.org was in context of giving permission to Dennis to use the lab computers for research. Dennis had specifically asked if he could visit that site and Freshwater gave him permission; Dennis was only on the computer for five minutes until the bell rang.
• He had nothing to do with Dennis being assigned to his field trip group.
• Never made the statement that Jim Stockdale credited to him about gays; Stockdale may have overheard a conversation Freshwater had with other teachers regarding the Time magazine article about the gay gene.
• The use of the word “here” was not for the purpose of indicating that the textbook contradicted the Bible or his religious beliefs.
• He never tried to promote the Loch Ness Monster as a scientific concept.
• He never said that Good Friday should be called the greatest Friday ever.
• Did not assign Bible memorization to students; but has had his own children memorize scripture.
• He was sensitive to the fact that students did not want to come to the hearing to testify; some students were not called because he did not believe they could deal with being on the witness stand.
• He has no ill or bad feelings towards Catholics.
• Did not teach religious beliefs in his classroom.
• Was never a member of the union and had no knowledge of the grievance process.
Freshwater described himself as a positive person but that over the last year and a half he has become more cynical. This situation has also been hard on his family. Even with that, he said that he is not so disgruntled that he couldn’t work at Mount Vernon City Schools. He could walk in and pick up right where he left off—same administration and same board.
***
Additional media coverage of Freshwater’s recent testimony:
(Note: Due to prior commitments, I was not able to be at the hearing for all of Freshwater’s testimony—as indicated in places, other sources were consulted for a few of the details in this article.)
The last regular meeting of the Mount Vernon Board of Education for 2009, held on Monday, included a presentation of “Distinguished Service Award” to outgoing board members Ian Watson and Steve Hughes.
The day of the school board election Mount Vernon Nazarene University Provost Henry Spaulding received a “few hot calls from the community” regarding an ad for candidate Paula Barone. The ad made a close connection between the university and an endorsement of Barone’s candidacy by a dean at the school.
MVNU currently has no policy that addresses the issue of faculty or staff, in their official capacity, endorsing political candidates. “We are silent on that, that’s a hole in our personnel policies,” Spaulding said.
Spaulding said that he has no basis to reprimand Dean Sonja Smith, who endorsed Barone, because of the lack of policy addressing this issue.
As Spaulding understands the situation, he said that Smith was not aware that her endorsement was going to be used in a print ad.
Had Smith brought a proof copy of the ad to him, and asked about its appropriateness, Spaulding said he would have told her that the ad was not OK.
“She supports her, she is a friend with her, knows her,” Spaulding said. “As a private citizen she can endorse who she wants to, but the challenge of course is that [MVNU] doesn’t endorse candidates and [because of the ad] it appears that we do. So that is an issue we’ve got to deal with.”
The new policy has yet to be written, but Spaulding explained what he envisions it will state. “The policy will be that a professor or administrator at this university is prohibited from endorsing any candidate in the name of the institution or writing letters to the editor in support of candidates on [MVNU] letterhead,” Spaulding said.
In a situation where an employee of MVNU is running for political office, it would be OK to mention where they work as background information. “If they run for political office and they happen to, on a resume, mention where they work I wouldn’t have a problem with that,” Spaulding said.
When it comes to speaking about issues, it can be appropriate for a professor to be identified with the university, Spaulding said. An example he gave was if a professor was on Meet the Press and the host referred to the professor as being from the university.
Spaulding said that it is situations like the Barone ad that lead to the creation of new policy. “That’s how policies are born—to address issues,” Spaulding said.
AccountabilityInTheMedia.com writer Sam Stickle is a student at MVNU. This website is not affiliated with the university.
In a school district still wrestling with issues of church and state, one school board candidate won a seat on the board following a campaign that involved a much publicized endorsement from a dean at Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
Paula Barone’s campaign ran both a radio commercial and at least one print ad that made reference to the connection between MVNU and the woman that was giving the endorsement—Dean Sonja Smith.
MVNU is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. As such, the university cannot make political endorsements.
The IRS gives the follow explanation in publication 557: “If any of the activities (whether or not substantial) of your organization consist of participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office, your organization will not qualify for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3).”
Request for comment from President Dan Martin’s assistant Laura Short resulted in the scheduling of an interview with Provost Henry Spaulding for November 20.
The print ad that ran in the Mount Vernon News on November 2 was devoted to Smith’s endorsement of Barone. It had the following headline: “MVNU Dean Sonja Smith recommends Paula Barone.” Below that was a photo of Smith and Barone. The ad included a letter of endorsement that was designed in such a way that it appeared to be on MVNU letterhead.
(This ad was published in the Mount Vernon News the day before the school board election.)
Barone told AccountabilityInTheMedia.com that Smith was very much aware of the content of the ad. “The ad layout used Sonja’s name and title, as provided by her,” Barone said. (Click here to read full response from Barone.)
In an interview with Smith, the dean said that she did not review the print ad before it was published. Smith said that the letter in the ad was written by her but was provided to Barone via email and not on MVNU stationary.
Smith insisted that all the information in the ad was factual—she had endorsed Barone and also that the job title used in the ad was correct and even available at the university’s website.
The headline used in the ad was not something that she wrote, Smith said.
Smith stated that the election is done and over with—at this point she felt bringing up the ad served no useful purpose.
She had no intention of implying that the university was endorsing the candidate and anyone who interpreted the ad that way did not read it carefully enough, Smith said. She pointed out that nowhere in the ad does it say “MVNU endorses Paula Barone.”
The following is the full video from the October 27, 2009 "Meet the Candidates Night"—a forum featuring candidates for the Mount Vernon School Board. (Length is one hour and 15 minutes.)
The video is hosted on Veoh.com and requires download of their player to view it in its entirety. (Please note: I cannot control the content of any ads they place in the video or other content on Veoh.com.)
Candidates in attendance: Paula Barone, Steve Hughes, Robert Kirk, Steve Thompson and Ian Watson.
The event was organized by the Mount Vernon City Schools Local 470 and MVEA.
Paula Barone’s son Joseph testified at the John Freshwater hearing—in the spring of 2002 he said he informed his parents of concerns he had with his eighth-grade science class taught by Freshwater. His parents did nothing until the teacher made the news in the spring of 2008.
Joseph Barone, a student at Ohio State University, testified that he received a phone call from his dad asking about notes taken in Freshwater’s class. “I told him I think [the notes are] in a box in the basement,” Barone said. “He went through and said, I found some stuff.”
Those notes were later given by his mother to investigators. Thomas Herlevi, co-owner of H.R. On Call, spent 15 to 30 minutes interviewing her. (Joseph Barone was not interviewed by HROC—possibly due to his being away at college at the time.)
Paula Barone, who is running for the Mount Vernon Board of Education, declined to comment on her involvement with the investigation of Freshwater. She also declined to explain her views on personnel policy—specifically, the following questions:
Do you think teachers should be given performance evaluations?
If a teacher falls short of expectations, should that teacher be given instruction and opportunity to measure up?
Regarding complaints made against a teacher: What is your position on the appropriateness of using previously unreported complaints, from prior school years, as a means to support a complaint from the most recent school year?
The questions have been left unanswered by Barone—but her involvement in the HROC investigation may reflect a portion of her views on personnel policy.
On her campaign website, Barone, who is a retired teacher, does not articulate any concerns she has with how the school system currently treats personnel. She does make a broad statement in regards to upholding the law:
“I will promote implementation of best practices, and insist upon compliance with applicable state and federal laws in every Mount Vernon classroom, administrative office and support service”
Testimony of Joseph Barone
The school’s attorney, David Millstone, primarily focused on student witnesses that were not from Freshwater’s most recent class. (The HROC investigation itself did interview a few current students.) Student witnesses called by Millstone during the 2008/2009 school year: Zachary Dennis (recent student), Simon Souhrada (high school jr.), James Hoeffgen (high school sr.), Katie Button (college) and Joseph Barone (college).
After seven years Barone still had handouts from Freshwater’s class—he stated that he was pretty sure Freshwater allowed students to take the handouts home. Two of his fill-in-the-blank worksheets were on the topic of evolution. The papers, which discussed obstacles on the evolutionary path of a couple animals, ended with the phrase “Is there an I.D. involved?”
Referencing a page of his notes from class, Barone said that three theories about the development of species were discussed “probably from a lecture or a transparency.” He said that they were “Darwin, natural selection, Wallace, and intelligent design.”
After “intelligent design,” in Barone’s class notes, was the phrase “strictly religious.” The statement may have been made by Freshwater. “I would think that it was probably something that he said, but not necessarily with regards to it being invalid,” Barone said.
The topic of evolution wasn’t covered until near the end of the year. Barone said that Freshwater allowed the class to debate the topic—leading to some heated discussions. “I felt that [the students] said some things about my beliefs that were persecution in nature and that they weren't really mediated very well by our teacher,” Barone said.
Barone acknowledged that Freshwater never made any statements that were denigrating to him or his religion. Despite being offended by the statements of his classmates, Barone never talked with Freshwater about the problem. His parents also did nothing about the alleged problem in the classroom (from hearing transcript):
Q. “Could you have gone and talked to your mom about your concerns?”
A. “I did talk to my parents about my concerns when I got home at dinner.”
AND
Q. “Ultimately, your mom nor dad did anything during that school year, correct?”
A. “Not that school year.”
Q. “They file any complaints on your behalf?”
A. “No, they did not.”
Barone gave several reasons for why he did not talk to his teacher about the problems in the classroom: Occasional negative comments were a part of going to school and interacting with his friends. He felt embarrassed going to someone with the problem. And he thought it wouldn’t do any good to talk with Freshwater—he thought he understood what his teacher’s views were and that they were too different from his own.
“Maybe he wasn’t aware of how out of control it was, but in my opinion, it was pretty out of control,” Barone said.
Although Barone described that year as being hard, he also said that it was a good year. “I loved my eighth grade year,” Barone said. “I was always looking forward to having Mr. Freshwater as a teacher. He had a great reputation as the kind of teacher you could feel comfortable with and friendly with. I still -- I maintain that friendship.”
Barone said that he probably received an “A” in Freshwater’s class.
The claim that John Freshwater “branded” a cross onto the arm of a student was item number one of the June 20, 2008 resolution of the Mount Vernon Board of Education. Problem is the school had already signed off on the matter in January of that year.
It wasn’t until after Freshwater refused to remove a Bible off his desk that the allegation was resurrected.
The allegation of the burn has yet to be collaborated, during the administrative hearing, by any source outside of the Dennis family. Freshwater denies that anyone was burned in the classroom demonstration. Other teachers at the school also allowed students to touch the spark from the Tesla coil, including: Steven Farmer, Donald Newcomer and Lori Miller.
The letter to Freshwater setting the matter to rest was signed by Principal William White and Assistant Principal Brad Ritchey. “Subject to follow through on the above issues and no further incidences whereas anyone is being shocked with the machines this letter will not become part of your permanent record,” the letter states. (Click here to view copy of letter.)
White testified at Freshwater’s administrative hearing that the language of the letter, referenced above, was included at the direction of Steve Short, who at the time was interim superintendent.
Jennifer Dennis—mother of the student allegedly burned—testified that she spoke with Short about the incident and told him she did not want to see Freshwater fired over this. “I just felt this was not a good situation, and I was concerned,” Dennis said.
The allegation, although already resolved, was included in the report by H.R. On Call and was included in a lawsuit filed by the Dennis family against Freshwater and the school.
The third opportunity to meet the candidates for the Mount Vernon Board of Education will be held on October 27 at the Mount Vernon Middle School. The following announcement is from the Mount Vernon News:
“Mount Vernon City Schools Local 470 and MVEA have invited the candidates for the Mount Vernon City School Board to participate in a meet the candidates night on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Mount Vernon Middle School commons. Candidates will be given an opportunity to give a brief introduction; each candidate will then be asked a series of questions from the classified staff and the teaching staff. There will be no questions from the audience, but anyone is welcome.”
The following article is based on an interview with Steve Thompson conducted on 9/26/09.
Steve Thompson cited mismanagement as the underlying cause of the current legal mess in the Mount Vernon City School District. Thompson, who is Vice President of Supply Chain at Ariel, said that if elected to the school board he would bring a valuable business perspective.
Proper management is essential to insure that teachers are afforded their due process rights, according to Thompson. “In any performance management system you have steps,” Thompson said. “What if you had an employee who received ‘meets or exceeds’ expectations, time in time out, every single evaluation, and then all of a sudden there is a movement to terminate them? Something is wrong in that system for that to happen.”
It isn’t enough, Thompson said, to simply get rid of the John Freshwater matter—the underlying problems will cause another personnel matter to occur. He gave the Al Haschak situation as another example of excessive cost to the tax payers. The $500,000 plus spent on these matters could have gone towards improved services to the students or a reduction of the $3 million deficit for the 2008-2009 school year.
Thompsons said that the school system could take action on personnel matters with confidence if it first clearly communicates expectations, documents when someone falls short and then gives opportunity for measuring up to the goals. “When somebody falls short you put them on a plan to restore them to the job, and you give them certain steps to get there [by a defined time],” Thompson said.
The confusion among teachers, over what they can and can’t do, stems from inconsistencies in administration. “I want to see that [Superintendent] Steve Short has something in place,” Thompson said, “that ensures, from building to building, everyone of those principals knows how to effectively do performance management systems and I want to know that they are then talking to each other and that there is some mechanism for comparison so that one principal is not out of line with the others.”
Another source of confusion is the August 18, 2009 “Religion In The Public Schools” training given to teaching staff. Thompson said he had reviewed portions of the slides used for the presentation. “Those slides are part of the confusion that I’ve talked about, because there are people within that school system today that do not understand those slides,” Thompson said. “Those slides do not match the handouts that they gave the teachers.”
“I […] have a feeling that there is fear in our school system, fear in our administration,” Thompson said. “And probably some over-reactiveness and that over-reactiveness is borderline on infringing on peoples’ rights.”
Thompson said he did not want to comment directly on the content of the slides. “I want to know more when I’m elected and am on that board, what was intended by those slides,” Thompson said.
Thompson’s son, Andrew, is a teacher at the middle school and testified in the ongoing employment hearing for Freshwater. During that testimony, Andrew Thompson expressed concern about what he described as a “slippery slope”—teachers losing their sense of being free to be creative and effective in their teaching over concerns that someone might complain over the smallest thing.
Steve Thompson said that the issue of teacher moral cannot be dealt with by the board members getting involved in the day-to-day operations of the school system. “The board is a policy making body and members are the chief advisors to the superintendent on community attitudes,” Thompson said, reading from a document created by the Ohio School Boards Association. “Board members do not manage the day-to-day operations of the school district; they see to it that the system is managed by professionals.” He said that if the system is consistent it will help create a positive work environment.
Resolving the ongoing controversy at the middle school begins with the people involved learning all of the facts. “The only way you can possibly come up with something positive is to bring people together and sit them around and put all the facts on the table,” Thompson said. “You can’t do it when you isolate yourself on little islands. And that’s where we are, we have several little islands all around this issue.”
Settling a score for Freshwater, however, is not why Thompson said he was running. “I want to make sure,” Thompson said, “my fifteen year old daughter has the same educational opportunities and feels the same freedoms of being in a public classroom as what her older brother and two sisters did. That motivates me. And I want to make sure that my son, who is a teacher, and the rest of the teachers in the school system know exactly what is expected of them and can perform their job and moral is up and they are equipped with what they need and that at the end of the day the customers are duly served—the kids of this community.”
The following is the full video from the October 13, 2009 "Meet the Candidates Night"—a forum featuring candidates for the Mount Vernon School Board. (Length is one hour and 54 minutes.)
The video is hosted on Veoh.com and requires download of their player to view it in its entirety. (Please note: I cannot control the content of any ads they place in the video or other content on Veoh.com.)
Candidates in attendance: Paula Barone, Steve Hughes, Robert Kirk and Steve Thompson.
The event was organized by The Knox County Ohio 912 Project.
I’ve uploaded the video of Paula Barone from when she spoke at the August 4, 2008 school board meeting.
I had originally left her comments off YouTube due to a portion of her comments being retracted—but since she is now a candidate for the board her comments are of more importance than they might have seemed last summer.
UPDATE:
A person on Knoxpages.com, identify himself as Sam Barone, posted the following comment about the video:
“Thank you, mountvernon1805, for recovering Paula's comments from that meeting. I was never prouder of my wife than I was that evening as she so articulately stated the case for religion-neutral classrooms in our public schools.
“I was, of course, disappointed that I had misidentified Mr. XXXX (I don't want to unfairly name him again) to her as the individual who had approached me at the previous board meeting. But as you noted, I immediately rose to apologize to Paula, and to Mr. XXXXX, for MY mistaking his identity. Ironically, the Minuteman member who had made the comments to me WAS in the audience that night, but made no attempt to take ownership of them. I thought that particularly cowardly on his part.
“Nevertheless, thank you again mountvernon 1805 for making available to everyone Paula's comments from that evening. I believe hearing them (despite MY regretable error) will help Mount Vernon School District voters understand why the school board needs someone of her integrity, clear thinking and, above all, respect for all Mount Vernon students.”
The following is the full video from the October 8, 2009 “Mount Vernon Schools Going Forward”—a forum featuring candidates for the Mount Vernon School Board. (Length is one hour and 48 minutes.)
The video is hosted on Veoh.com and requires download of their player to view it in its entirety. (Please note: I cannot control the content of any ads they place in the video or other content on Veoh.com.)
Candidates in attendance: Paula Barone, Steve Hughes, Robert Kirk and Ian Watson. Opening remarks on behalf of Steve Thompson delivered by David Stuller.
The Knox County Ohio 912 Project has announced that they are organizing a second forum, scheduled to take place on Tuesday October 13 at 7:00 p.m.
The location is the Memorial Theater 112 E. High Street Mount Vernon, Ohio.
They are charging one dollar per adult. According to an automated phone call promoting the event, the money raised will be given to Interchurch Social Services. The message also stated that the public will be given a chance to ask the candidates questions.
The Knox County Democratic Women website posted the following announcement concerning a chance to hear from the Mount Vernon City Schools Board of Education candidates:
"School Board Candidates to Discuss Future of Mount Vernon Schools "7pm, Thursday, October 8 "'Mount Vernon Schools Going Forward,' a forum featuring candidates for the Mount Vernon School Board, will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 8, in the Educational Service Center on Martinsburg Road in Mount Vernon.
"Candidates Paula Barone, Steve Hughes, Robert Kirk and Ian Watson will discuss their qualifications and respond to predetermined questions from moderator Dr. Peggy Dunn. The questions fall into the broad categories of curriculum and finance.
"This event is organized by the Knox County Democratic Women as a community service (school board positions are non-partisan) and the general public is encouraged to attend. Candidates will not be asked any questions related to legal matters that are now before the board."
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
AccountabilityInTheMedia.com was begun in 2009 to respond to inaccuracies in the media’s coverage of the John Freshwater and Mount Vernon Board of Education controversy. Since posting a response to The Columbus Dispatch editorial of January 7, 2009, “Teaching moment,” which was about Freshwater, I followed up with details from the state administrative hearing. Although I do have opinions about various aspects of the controversy— I support Freshwater’s right to have a Bible on his desk; I also support his right to due process—this website is not affiliated with Freshwater or any other party involved in litigation with the school.
(Paula Barone, at right, listens to questions at 
