Story posted Thursday, January 28, 2010
Deputy Chief: Wheeling Teacher's Resignation 'Not A Police Matter'
Township District 214 officials and Wheeling Police are remaining silent about the recent resignation of a male first-year teacher at Wheeling High School.
In a statement issued by Venetia Miles, director of community relations for the district, "A concern regarding a Wheeling staff member was brought to the attention of the Wheeling High School administration late last week." That concern led to the resignation of the teacher, a resignation accepted by the board of education at the meeting on Jan. 21.
However, Miles would not reveal the nature of the concern. "It's a personnel matter and we don't discuss personnel matters," she said when asked for details of the events leading to the teacher's resignation.
Miles would not answer any other questions about the teacher nor if there were previous incidents reported about him. When asked to dispel rumors of inappropriate contact between the teacher and a student, Miles declined to do so replying, "It's a personnel matter and we don't discuss personnel matters." She also would not confirm the involvement of any Wheeling student in the situation. "I'm not saying that there is or isn't," she said.
Bill Benson, deputy chief of the Wheeling Police Dept., confirmed his department was contacted about the matter. "The police did investigate and there were no criminal charges," he said. "It's an internal matter at the high school; it's not a police matter." He later added, "There was nothing of a criminal nature."
Benson was asked if his department collected any cell phone evidence during the investigation. "I can't make any comment on that," he replied.
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