The Saline Reporter
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Police looking into complaint about educator
Substitute teacher accused of sending inappropriate IMs
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 7, 2008
A substitute teacher at Saline Middle School was let go last week after sending to an eighth-grader electronic messages that district administrators called "inappropriate."
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The teacher was dismissed after the mother of the eighth-grader informed administrators of instant messages the teacher had exchanged with the student.
"We took it as very serious and terminated our relationship with the substitute," said Interim Superintendent Scot Graden, who declined to disclose the content of the messages other than to say some of it was of a sexual nature and contained some profanity.
Graden said the teacher knew the student from outside of school.
School administrators contacted Saline Police, who initially determined there was insufficient evidence to warrant criminal charges.
"Originally, we could not determine there was a criminal case and we closed the case out," said Saline Police Chief Paul Bunten. "Then we got new information and re-opened it."
Bunten said there was no evidence physical contact between the student and teacher had occurred, but that the investigation was ongoing.
The 23-year-old teacher began working as a substitute for the district in the fall, Graden said, and was used "relatively infrequently."
In accordance with state law, Graden said the teacher was fingerprinted last January prior to his hiring and a background check came back clear.
An internal investigation determined that the teacher did not use a school computer to send the messages, Graden said.
"We're cooperating with the police department," Graden said. "I'm wholly confident that before the fact and after the fact we acted appropriately."
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