Staying with the story
The Springfield News-Sun first broke the story of Tecumseh Superintendent Brad Martin being placed on paid administrative leave and will continue to dig into the investigation.
Days after meeting in executive session, Tecumseh Local School board members released a statement on Monday saying they support district personnel as authorities investigate the possible theft of thousands of dollars from the school district.
Officials also released a letter that was hand delivered to Superintendent Brad Martin, who was placed on paid administrative leave last week.
“By this letter and effective immediately, you are placed on paid administrative leave and assigned to your home during work hours. This assignment will continue until further written notice to you. This action is being taken pending investigation into matters regarding your employment,” according to the letter from board members to Martin dated Dec. 16.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation announced late last week that they are investigating a report of missing money at Tecumseh Local Schools. Investigators haven’t released a total amount of money that may be missing but said the thefts may have gone on for months and that they are reviewing all district accounts.
Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly declined again on Monday to identify a suspect. The sheriff’s office has a sergeant and two deputies working on the case, as well as three BCI agents.
With so many different accounts to comb through, Kelly said, it’s going be a “long and painstaking process.” Subpoenas and search warrants will likely need to be issued to continue the investigation, he said, which could be difficult with both the school and the courts being closed this week for the holidays.
Investigators plan to interview as many people as possible who had access to certain accounts, Kelly said.
“With this kind of an investigation, you can’t hurry it,” he said.
Tecumseh Local School board of education members met for nearly four hours on Saturday in executive session to discuss complaints against a public employee, but said they took no action and declined further comment.
On Monday, board members released the following statement:
“The Tecumseh Local Board of Education is in full support of district personnel, who are fully cooperating with legal authorities, during this ongoing investigation,” the statement says.
When asked for clarification on the statement and whether the board was supporting Martin during the investigation, Assistant Superintendent Paul Crew declined to comment further and released the letter notifying Martin that he was on paid administrative leave and home assignment until further notice.
The letter doesn’t provide details about why he is on leave.
Martin, a Tecumseh graduate, has been employed in the district since his graduation from college in the early 1990s. He took over as superintendent in 2013. Martin couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.
He has been instructed not to enter school buildings or talk to staff or board members. He was also ordered to return all keys, computers and other property and that “failure to do so will be considered theft and/or misappropriation of board property,” according to the letter.
The district has a budget with total revenues and other financing sources of about $28.5 million annually, according to its most recent five-year forecast.
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