Three teachers at Foothill placed on paid leave

Three teachers at Foothill High School have been placed on paid administrative leave while they are being investigated by the Clark County School District, an official with the school system said Friday.

Darrin Puana, the district’s assistant director in the Employee Management Relations Office, wouldn’t disclose why the instructors were being investigated.

“Allegations have come up, and they are serious enough that we have made the determination at this time to remove the individuals from their classrooms,” he said. The teachers were removed in the past “couple of weeks” from the Henderson school, in the far southeast valley off U.S. Highway 95 on College Drive.

Sources close to the investigation who asked to remain anonymous said the teachers were being investigated because of allegations of sexual misconduct with students that varied in degree of seriousness.

Puana said it is uncommon for teachers to be removed from the classroom. That decision is made in consultation with the district’s legal department, he said.

He added that the teachers had not been suspended.

Todd Rasmussen, a spokesman for Henderson police, said his department was not investigating any Foothill teachers for sexual misconduct.

“If the school district needs our assistance, they’ll contact us,” Rasmussen said.

Two sources close to the investigation said one of the allegations is that a female teacher had sexual intercourse with a male student. The state revokes the licenses of teachers convicted of having sex with minors.

One of the sources said that the district had overreacted and that the cases didn’t have merit.

“All three (cases) smell to me,” the source said. “Two of them should have never gotten to this. And they wouldn’t have had the principal been there.”

District officials forwarded a letter to the Review-Journal from Foothill Principal Gretchen Crehan addressed to “Foothill Families” that she wrote last month.

Crehan wrote in the letter that she intended on retiring April 20 because her mother was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. The letter goes on to say that three assistant principals would be available in her absence.

Students at Foothill who were going home for the day Friday said rumors had been rampant for a few weeks that some teachers were removed from the school because of inappropriate behavior with classmates. Most students were quick to say which three teachers they had heard had been removed from the classroom. But other students were more cautious.

“I’ve heard a lot of stuff, but I don’t believe it,” said freshman James Crisler, who added that some of the allegations were directed at one of his favorite teachers.

Students said they had heard of allegations that included teachers sleeping with students and a male teacher picking up a female student and twirling her around.

Although the merits of the allegations against the teachers remained in question Friday, most parents agreed that the Foothill administration should not have kept them in the dark about the situation.

Angel Ramirez has a daughter who is a junior at Foothill. He said that he’s concerned for his daughter’s safety at the school and that the allegations would tarnish the school’s reputation.

“Three teachers at one school … that’s pretty bad,” Ramirez said. “That’s bad for the kids. That’s bad for the parents.”

Review-Journal writers Lawrence Mower and Francis McCabe contributed to this report.