June 7, 2013
Joplin School Board terminates Randy Turner’s teaching contract
JOPLIN, Mo. — In a 7-0 vote, the Joplin Board of Education terminated the teaching contract of Randy Turner, a communication arts teacher at East Middle School, in a closed session Thursday night.
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In a footnote to the board’s decision about immoral conduct, the board said Turner was not charged with immoral conduct for engaging in inappropriate relations with a student. The charges against Turner specifically indicate that he was charged with immoral conduct because he had provided and promoted obscene material containing graphic depiction of sexuality to children in a book he authored called “No Child Left Alive.’’ Turner described the book as a satire on the state of public education in the United States.
The footnote states: “Although the administration testified that the circumstances surrounding the situation caused them to have a heightened level of concern during their investigation, the administration indicated that they found no evidence that Turner had engaged in inappropriate relations with a student. The resulting connection by innuendo was made by Turner’s counsel, not by the administration.’’
During Turner’s termination hearing, the school district’s human resources director, Tina Smith, said she interviewed students in Turner’s classes, and inferred that he might be “grooming” his students, a reference to behavior often exhibited by child predators.
Turner was accused of tagging by name proportionally more girls than boys on his Facebook page by Klista Rader, director of information technology for the district. She said that “stood out as odd.”
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No parents or students testified against Turner in terms of his moral character or his ability to teach.
more . . . http://www.joplinglobe.com/topstories/x157726465/Joplin-School-Board-terminates-Randy-Turner-s-teaching-contract
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