Kingfisher schools cut 22 jobs in wake of $5M hazing settlement; coach remains employed

Posted by Admin December 12, 2024 Jobs

Kingfisher schools cut 22 jobs in wake of M hazing settlement; coach remains employed

Spread the love

Nuria Martinez-Keel
| Oklahoma Voice

KINGFISHER — Kingfisher Public Schools cut 22 teaching, administrative and support staff positions as it continues to grapple with the fallout of a $5 million lawsuit settlement over alleged hazing.

The Kingfisher Board of Education voted Wednesday night to accept 18 resignations, eliminate two secretary jobs and suspend the junior high soccer program. Interim Superintendent Andy Evans said all 11 departing teachers had been working in the district for under two years, were in adjunct positions or held emergency certifications.

Meanwhile, the former high school football coach at the center of the hazing allegations remains employed. Jeff Myers is on administrative leave from the district while charged with felony child neglect in Kingfisher County District Court.

Myers is accused of condoning boxing and wrestling matches between players in the football locker room, according to court documents. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Former player Mason Mecklenburg sued the district in 2021, alleging he suffered hazing and abuse while part of the Kingfisher football program. After initially rejecting a $1.5 million settlement offer in March 2022, the school board agreed in 2023 to settle the lawsuit for $5 million.

Mecklenburg’s father, Justin, said Wednesday that the family is deeply saddened at the news of the staff cuts.

“Compounding the hurt of innocent people losing their jobs is the fact that it did not have to be this way,” Justin Mecklenburg told Oklahoma Voice. “Had the school board conducted a proper investigation and taken the appropriate action of terminating Jeff Myers back in 2021, the school would not be in the financial position that it is in today.

“Inexplicably, Jeff Myers remains on the school payroll today, even after felony criminal charges of child neglect have been filed, all while many highly qualified and valued teachers and staff have lost their jobs.”

Myers can no longer coach in Kingfisher schools as a condition of the settlement, but he is still employed as a career teacher, a tenured position earned after working in a school district for more than three years.

The due process protections granted to tenured teachers, who can be fired only for cause, are the reason Myers is still employed, Evans said.

The district paid the first $1.25 million of the settlement by Feb. 13 and agreed to pay the remaining $3.75 million balance in yearly installments, according to court records.

School districts often cover the added expense of a court judgment through an increase to local residents’ property taxes rather than by cutting staff. But, the Kingfisher County Excise Board rejected a property tax hike.

The excise board, which fixes tax levies and millage rates, approved $14.2 million in property tax revenue for the district this school year, almost $2 million lower than what school administrators had budgeted for.

“This is the first time this has happened, I think, probably ever,” Evans said. “That’s what makes this so unique, and it is unusual.”

The reduction in force is expected to offset the resulting general fund shortfall, he said. All departing employees will be paid through Dec. 20 and will receive a $2,500 incentive for agreeing to waive due process hearings.

Evans said the reduction in force will have “very little effect on classrooms.”

Wednesday’s school board meeting was brief but emotional. Board Vice President Carly Franks was in tears as she made the motion to accept the resignations.

One of the departing employees, Stuart Purintun, had worked in the district for 16 years as a football coach, athletic director and district administrator. Purintun told the board Wednesday night that he and his family will “miss every face and treasure every memory” from Kingfisher schools.

“Most of all, I’ve been blessed to teach, coach, administrate, mentor and serve the students of Kingfisher because without them none of us would do what we do,” Purintun said during the board meeting.

Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and Twitter.