Investigation to begin into allegations against teacher
By Pamela Schehl, News Staff Reporter
Wednesday, April 23, 2008


MOUNT VERNON, OHIO — After an extended executive session Tuesday morning, the Mount Vernon City Schools Board of Education and administration decided to have an independent party investigate allegations made against eighth-grade science teacher John Freshwater.

In a public rally last week, Freshwater said the school administration’s directive to remove a personal Bible from his desk was an abridgment of his First Amendment rights, and refused to comply with the order. On Friday, students held a rally in support of Freshwater and his stance for displaying his Bible.

In a press release issued Tuesday afternoon, Superintendent Steve Short said, “The allegations against Mr. Freshwater are very serious. This is not about his personal Bible on his desktop. It is about the totality of his conduct.”

One of the complaints was that Freshwater used an electrostatic device to burn crosses onto students’ arms.

Attorney Jessica Philemond of the law firm Isaac, Brant, Ledman & Teetor, issued a faxed statement Tuesday from her clients, the parents of a boy who said the cross was burned onto his arm. In the statement, the parents said they wish to remain anonymous for fear of their child would be retaliated against.

The fax stated, “We are religious people, but we were offended when Mr. Freshwater burned a cross onto the arm of our child. This was done in science class in December 2007, where an electric shock machine was used to burn our child. The burn was severe enough that our child awoke that night with severe pain, and the cross remained there for several weeks. ... We have tried to keep this a private matter and hesitate to tell the whole story to the media for fear that we will be retaliated against.”

In the fax, the parents said the issue is not about Freshwater having his personal Bible, which they do not oppose, but about the violation of laws and defiance of school policy.


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