Crestview teacher under investigation named
By LEONARD GLENN CRISTArticle Photos
COLUMBIANA - Crestview High School English teacher Shari Clark has been named as the teacher under investigation for misconduct with a student.
Crestview Board of Education President Jim Weikart confirmed Wednesday Clark is the teacher under investigation.
A special meeting of the board of education is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday for the purpose of terminating Clark's contract. Crestview Superintendent John Dilling will recommend the board fire Clark.
Weikart said he hasn't yet decided if he'll support the recommendation.
"I'm going to be looking at both sides," Weikart said. "I don't want to come across as I've decided and I'm not going to change my mind. It's not the case. Obviously we're all heart sick in this whole thing and I think its incumbent on anybody to look at all sides of this."
Clark, 38, of Negley, teaches English 3, Advanced English 3 and English 4 at the high school. She is also the winter sports cheerleading adviser and has served as the senior class adviser.
She graduated from Youngstown State University in 1993 and was hired that same year by Crestview at an annual salary of $18,797. She was granted tenure in 1998 after she completed her master's degree from YSU.
Clark's base salary for the 2007-08 school year was $54,295, which is near the top of the pay scale, said district Treasurer Charlene Mercure.
On her most recent teaching evaluations, Clark received scores of "excellent" or "good" in every category, though in her June 2005 evaluation, a tardiness problem was noted.
In a response to a June 2001 teaching evaluation, Clark wrote she goes to "great lengths to enable open dialog between students" and herself. A teaching evaluation in 1996 stated Clark's rapport with students, cheerleaders and the spirit club "is very good."
A 1999 Bureau of Criminal Investigations background check showed no criminal record for Clark.
The exact nature of the alleged misconduct has not been revealed. Last week, Dilling said it was misconduct of a sexual nature, but he has backed away from such a description and is simply referring to it as misconduct.
Dilling first heard about the misconduct at the end of the school year. He said the incident that triggered his investigation occurred on school grounds a couple of days prior to him being made aware of the misconduct allegations. Dilling immediately notified the board of education as well as Columbiana County Children's Services.
Dilling has said he doesn't expect criminal charges will be filed against the teacher.
The Columbiana County Sheriff's Office, which has jurisdiction over the Crestview campus, has taken no reports regarding the alleged misconduct.
The results of Dilling's investigation will remain secret until after Ohio Department of Education officials conduct an investigation of their own.
The grounds for termination will be revealed at Monday's meeting. If Clark is fired, an appeals process is available to her.
Leonard Glenn Crist can be reached at lcrist@salemnews.net
