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	Former Fremont School Counselor Violated Agreement with District By Mark Tower The News-Messenger August 18 2010 http://www.thenews-messenger.com/article/20100818/NEWS01/8180309/Ex-SJCC-counselor-broke-agreement A school counselor who recently resigned at St. Joseph Central Catholic High School had been disciplined by the Ohio Board of Education in March and recently violated the terms of a consent agreement with the board. Kevin Yeckley, who served as high school baseball coach for the past three years and counselor for 14 years, entered into the agreement for "conduct unbecoming a licensed educator by failing to maintain appropriate student-teacher boundaries." One of the conditions of the consent agreement was that Yeckley could only teach in the Diocese of Toledo -- which the Ohio Board of Education said he violated by working for Fremont City Schools. The state Board of Education sent Yeckley a letter June 30 to notify him of the violation. Despite the fact that he worked at the Catholic high school, Yeckley was officially employed by Fremont City Schools, which paid his salary with funds allocated to public schools to spend exclusively on school programs and specified staff for non-public schools, said Fremont City Schools Superintendent Traci McCaudy. She declined further comment Tuesday. Yeckley's resignation from SJCC was announced by Bishop Hoffman Schools Superintendent Rick Facciolo on Friday, along with the resignation of SJCC Principal Mike Gabel and the elimination of the position of business manager and treasurer in the district. Neither Yeckley nor Gabel could be reached for comment. Facciolo said he was not aware of the consent agreement, and said Yeckley's decision to leave SJCC was purely a personal one. "Kevin had decided that he wanted to take a step back and explore his future; at Fremont, or St. Joe's, or both," he said. "He was an asset to St. Joe's for quite some time and worked well with staff and parents. It was certainly part of our planning that he would be around in the future." Yeckley's resignation was accepted by Fremont City Schools at the board meeting Monday night. In the agreement, Yeckley agreed to complete three hours of training on establishing and maintaining appropriate teacher-student boundaries and complete an evaluation with a psychologist or psychiatrist, both before July 1. Yeckley also was required to submit detailed reports, verified by school administration, every three months, indicating if he had engaged in any conduct unbecoming an educator. Yeckley signed the consent agreement March 2, and it went into effect when it was signed March 5 by Deborah Delisle, superintendent of public instruction. Julie Daubenmire, spokeswoman for the state's Board of Education, said any specific information about the behavior that triggered the consent agreement is confidential. Actions laid out in Ohio Revised Code that could trigger such disciplinary action include engaging in an immoral act, incompetence, negligence or conduct that is unbecoming to the applicant's or person's position. The Ohio Administrative Code lists several possible categories for disciplinary procedures to be initiated for conduct unbecoming, ranging from conviction of a crime to any misconduct that negatively reflects on the teaching profession. Daubenmire said the Board of Education will move forward with the disciplinary process because of the violation of the consent agreement. Yeckley has the right to request a hearing, typically within 30 days of receiving the letter, but has not done so yet, she said. Facciolo was appointed superintendent this spring of Bishop Hoffman Catholic School -- the name given to the consolidated system that now is made up of SJCC, Sacred Heart and St. Joseph schools. The school is exploring its options to fill the position, Facciolo said, and hopes to have a new counselor and baseball coach in place by the start of the school year. If not, he said, they may be able to work with Fremont City Schools to have a counselor available on a temporary basis. "We want to make sure our students have everything they need when school starts," Facciolo said. "That is our priority right now." The same news release from Facciolo that announced the resignations of Gabel and Yeckley said Terri Haven, the business manager and school treasurer, has been let go. Her duties have been absorbed by the financial coordinator.
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