Investigations into alleged “inappropriate behavior” of a Chatfield teacher are ongoing

Chatfield School co-principals Bill Kraly and Matt Young address the school board during a Thursday morning meeting. Kraly and Young have issued two statements to families and the community since the story broke about alleged misconduct by a now-former teacher. Photo by Jeff Hogan

LAPEER — A Chatfield School music teacher was fired from his position at the Lapeer school, where he taught for 13 years, after being accused of “inappropriate and unacceptable” behavior.

The former employee is alleged to have engaged in sexting and sent explicit photos of himself. The Lapeer County Sheriff’s Department has taken over the lead investigation into the allegations. Sheriff Scott McKenna said the department is awaiting search warrants for electronic devices. He offered no comment other than to say their “investigation is ongoing.”

The Lapeer County District Attorney’s Office is also involved in the investigation.

Chatfield School is a public charter school operated by Saginaw Valley State University. Founded in 1996, the school has approximately 480 students.

On Friday, June 21, Chatfield School co-principals Bill Kraly and Matt Young issued a brief statement after several hours of public speculation and rumors surrounding posts on a Facebook discussion page that day. Chatfield’s June 21 statement said the employee was suspended (at the time) and has since been terminated. The school was scheduled to post the vacancy on Friday.

Young said the electronic devices used by the teacher were confiscated and locked in a secure storage location at the school in case they were needed for the investigation.

The sexting allegations and posts were the result of a Brighton-based internet sleuth posting the allegations on social media. How and why the woman began her work involving the former teacher is currently unclear.

Chatfield staff met Wednesday night for a special meeting marked by much mutual consolation following the shocking allegations against the former music teacher. The Chatfield School Board met Thursday morning. About 10 staff members and their families were in attendance. No member of the public addressed the board about the allegations.

Board Chairman Nate Muir read a statement on the allegations, his voice choked with emotion. He is the father of three Chatfield graduates, all of whom took classes with the fired teacher. “None of them said there was any strange or inappropriate behavior in his presence. The experience at Chatfield has been nothing but positive… Let’s not forget that there is still a whole list of fantastic employees,” Muir said. “We feel for everyone affected. We feel for everyone.”

He continued: “It’s a terrible allegation that may or may not have happened, but it has nothing to do with what’s happening here overall.”

On Tuesday, Young and Kraly issued a statement to Chatfield’s families and the community at large.

“As we shared in a recent communication, we have become aware of social media posts allegedly involving inappropriate and unacceptable behavior by a staff member. While we have no information to indicate that the alleged misconduct involved the school or Chatfield students, the safety of students and staff is of paramount importance,” the letter said.

Young and Kraly’s statement continued: “We immediately responded by suspending the employee pending further investigation. In addition, we issued an order (to the teacher) prohibiting him from entering the buildings and restricting access to school-provided technology. We also reported the matter to local law enforcement. We continue to cooperate with law enforcement as the investigation continues.”

They added: “Chatfield School has and will continue to make the safety, well-being and academic success of students our highest priority. We are available by appointment should you or your child wish to discuss this situation.”