9 hours ago, 1stand3rdNoOuts said:

Granted, I'm not in education, but in healthcare. I had a professor in grad school who didn't have a license to practice because of a drug/dui related offense. Online graduate-level education, especially at the doctoral level, is more about doing your own research, writing papers, being able to formulate and defend an argument, etc. 

Masters level in the education field is about increasing your teaching strategies, and a whole bunch of educational laws and ethics.  That's the irony if he does end up teaching for a university.

17 hours ago, Oldercoach said:

I know nothing, but it seems possible that the eruption could potentially be the non-reporting of a teacher’s alleged actions toward a student.  He might have chosen to self investigate and came to a conclusion that has comeback to bite him.  Allegations (if false) can literally destroy a teacher’s career.  

This makes a ton of sense.  Also, as far as his retirement, I am guessing that he agreed to everything in exchange to being allowed to keep his pension.  

1 hour ago, cincyswords said:

This makes a ton of sense.  Also, as far as his retirement, I am guessing that he agreed to everything in exchange to being allowed to keep his pension.  

Fine, but the details of that agreement should be made public since it's public dollars involving a public servant.

You have to do something pretty bad for EPSB to revoke your certification for life.  Even if you are retiring it and you don't fight it.  I've seen EPSB suspend people for five days, thirty days, six months, even nine years.  

He got a lot of criticism for his quarter-million-dollar salary.  However, the school board members are the ones who continued to approve his salary rather than giving raises to teachers.  I believe they were in a budget deficit two years ago too if I'm not mistaken.

Link NKY ran a new story this morning:

Former Beechwood teacher’s admission highlights gray area between law, ethics https://linknky.com/news/education/2025/07/01/beechwood-teacher-grooming/

 

From the article: 

“Superintendent Stacy clearly neglected his duty to protect the students in the Commonwealth and his failure to act warrants sanction by the EPSB,” the memo concludes. “His serious lack of judgment created an unreasonably dangerous situation for all students in the Commonwealth.” 

Stacy said in a rebuttal to the board’s decision that he was not in the room for the entirety of the interview. 

“Whlie present at most of the interview, I did arrive late and leave early,” Stacy wrote in the rebuttal. “I was not present for the ‘mhmm’ response to the question that would indicate grooming. Nor was I told by state police … that [the teacher] in any way admitted to doing anything at Beechwood.” 

Also present at the time of the interview was then-high school principal Justin Kaiser, who was appointed superintendent of the district in May of this year. His first official day as superintendent is today. 

Kaiser, upon further review of the recording, appears to be in the room for the entirety of the conversation. 

But Kaiser did not face any repercussions because, according to the Kentucky Department of Education’s Jennifer Ginn, the Education Professional Standards Board’s “duty to report to the EPSB pursuant to KRS 161.120(3) is specific to the superintendent and does not apply to the principal.”

Whether state police are aware of or in the midst of an ongoing investigation, a superintendent is still required to report alleged abuse to the board. 

Regardless, Stacy said, that’s irrelevant because he wasn’t in the room to hear the alleged abuse. 

3 hours ago, brooksville said:

Link NKY ran a new story this morning:

Former Beechwood teacher’s admission highlights gray area between law, ethics https://linknky.com/news/education/2025/07/01/beechwood-teacher-grooming/

 

From the article: 

“Superintendent Stacy clearly neglected his duty to protect the students in the Commonwealth and his failure to act warrants sanction by the EPSB,” the memo concludes. “His serious lack of judgment created an unreasonably dangerous situation for all students in the Commonwealth.” 

Stacy said in a rebuttal to the board’s decision that he was not in the room for the entirety of the interview. 

“Whlie present at most of the interview, I did arrive late and leave early,” Stacy wrote in the rebuttal. “I was not present for the ‘mhmm’ response to the question that would indicate grooming. Nor was I told by state police … that [the teacher] in any way admitted to doing anything at Beechwood.” 

Also present at the time of the interview was then-high school principal Justin Kaiser, who was appointed superintendent of the district in May of this year. His first official day as superintendent is today. 

Kaiser, upon further review of the recording, appears to be in the room for the entirety of the conversation. 

But Kaiser did not face any repercussions because, according to the Kentucky Department of Education’s Jennifer Ginn, the Education Professional Standards Board’s “duty to report to the EPSB pursuant to KRS 161.120(3) is specific to the superintendent and does not apply to the principal.”

Whether state police are aware of or in the midst of an ongoing investigation, a superintendent is still required to report alleged abuse to the board. 

Regardless, Stacy said, that’s irrelevant because he wasn’t in the room to hear the alleged abuse. 

This is unbelievable. If I read this correctly, the principal, now new superintendent was aware of all of this and didn't report because that's a duty of rhe superintendent?  If you know your superior didn't report, how do you sleep at night knowing this?  Better question, how do the wonderful people feel about this entire situation, given this new information about the now current superintendent?

Statement from Beechwood published by LINKNKY:

Statement of Beechwood Independent Schools
June 27, 2025

On May 9, 2025, Dr. Mike Stacy, Beechwood Independent Schools Superintendent, voluntarily
agreed through an Agreed Order with the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board
(“EPSB”) not to renew his teaching certificate after his retirement on June 30, 2025.

In June 2024, the EPSB made Dr. Stacy aware that the EPSB believed Dr. Stacy had failed to make
a report to the EPSB about an alleged inappropriate relationship between a former Beechwood
teacher and a former Beechwood student. Dr. Stacy acknowledges he did not make a report but
maintains he did not reasonably believe he had information that would warrant such a report;
therefore, the Agreed Order with the EPSB specifically reflects that Dr. Stacy maintains his
innocence from any wrongdoing.

In March 2022, a Kentucky State Police (KSP) detective came to Beechwood unannounced to
interview a teacher about a former student who had graduated in 2020. Up to this point, no
report had ever been made to anyone associated with Beechwood regarding any allegations of
potential misconduct.

District administrators cooperated and gave KSP full access to school facilities and the teacher in
question. Following the interview with the teacher, no arrest was made. The KSP detective
advised he would need to confer with the Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney. When Dr.
Stacy asked for a copy of the student’s written statement, the KSP indicated it could not be
provided. To date, no criminal charges have ever been brought, and the KSP and the
Commonwealth’s Attorney never subsequently reached out to Beechwood with any information.

After the KSP detective left Beechwood, Dr. Stacy immediately met with the teacher who denied
any misconduct. However, when Dr. Stacy advised he would need to open an investigation, the
teacher elected to resign. The teacher never returned to the classroom or to Beechwood’s
campus ensuring the safety of students and staff.

Superintendents are required to make reports to the EPSB within 30 days of having a reasonable
belief that a teacher may have engaged in conduct that would warrant consideration for
revocation of the teacher’s teaching certificate. Dr. Stacy maintains that when he and the board
attorney did not receive any information from the KSP or the Kenton County Commonwealth’s
Attorney that the teacher had engaged in criminal misconduct, he did not reasonably believe he
had information that would warrant such a report.

Beechwood does not condone employee misconduct, and Dr. Stacy never attempted to cover up
or hide any alleged inappropriate behavior by the teacher in question. The teacher was never
arrested or charged with any criminal activity, and Dr. Stacy never received any report from any
student or former student alleging misconduct by the teacher. Neither Dr. Stacy nor the board
attorney ever received any report from the KSP or the Commonwealth Attorney.

Dr. Stacy has been in public education for 28 years and has never previously been accused of any
educator misconduct. Dr. Stacy acknowledges he did not make a report but maintains he did not
reasonably believe he had information that would warrant such a report, particularly when the
KSP and the Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney’s office never followed up with any criminal
proceedings.

Beechwood has, and will continue to, put the safety and security of all students at the forefront.

This is an abomination for Beechwood and clearly Stacy, Kaiser, and the Beechwood Board of Education have closed ranks all maintaining none of them have done anything wrong. 

Despicable, Beechwood and I am so disappointed in my alma mater. 

================

Great reporting by Meghan Goth of LINKNKY!

Here is Meghan's author archive:

As LINK nky's executive editor, Meghan Goth oversees editorial operations across all platforms. Before she started at LINK in 2022, she managed the investigative and enterprise teams at WCPO 9 in Cincinnati. She has also worked at The Cincinnati Enquirer, Dateline NBC and The New York Times Syndicate. She graduated with her Bachelor's in journalism from the University of Cincinnati in 2007 and received her Master of Science in Journalism from Columbia University in 2008.

2 hours ago, theguru said:

This is an abomination for Beechwood and clearly Stacy, Kaiser, and the Beechwood Board of Education have closed ranks all maintaining none of them have done anything wrong. 

Despicable, Beechwood and I am so disappointed in my alma mater. 

================

Great reporting by Meghan Goth of LINKNKY!

Here is Meghan's author archive:

As LINK nky's executive editor, Meghan Goth oversees editorial operations across all platforms. Before she started at LINK in 2022, she managed the investigative and enterprise teams at WCPO 9 in Cincinnati. She has also worked at The Cincinnati Enquirer, Dateline NBC and The New York Times Syndicate. She graduated with her Bachelor's in journalism from the University of Cincinnati in 2007 and received her Master of Science in Journalism from Columbia University in 2008.

So, I am just spitballing, but his report to the EPSB should have gone like this.  KSP interviewed teacher X on school grounds today.  I was there for part of the meeting and understood the KSP were investigating a student’s claim of which I was not allowed to see.  The KSP shared no findings, no charges and neither they or the Commonwealth Attorney pursued the matter.  I met with the teacher and having extremely limited knowledge advised X that we would proceed to open an investigation.  The teacher immediately resigned and left school property permanently.  Sounds like an easy report to me.  Don’t understand why it was not filed.

4 hours ago, Oldercoach said:

So, I am just spitballing, but his report to the EPSB should have gone like this.  KSP interviewed teacher X on school grounds today.  I was there for part of the meeting and understood the KSP were investigating a student’s claim of which I was not allowed to see.  The KSP shared no findings, no charges and neither they or the Commonwealth Attorney pursued the matter.  I met with the teacher and having extremely limited knowledge advised X that we would proceed to open an investigation.  The teacher immediately resigned and left school property permanently.  Sounds like an easy report to me.  Don’t understand why it was not filed.

Because it would make Beechwood look bad, on his watch...  Imagine a grooming scandal that has potentially stretched over years, but was never investigated by the school, gets released to the public.  How do we know if there were any other victims or not?  Would Beechwood even report it if there were others?  

But instead of doing what was required, Stacy claims he arrived late and left early and had no knowledge of anything that needed to be reported, lol lol lol, no wonder his certification was pulled.  That is a joke of excuse.  Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, Kaiser was present for the entire meeting so for that defense to work for Stacy the assumption is Stacy and Kaiser never discussed the parts Stacy missed when Stacy was not in the meeting.  Again, another joke.  Assuming Kaiser had knowledge of the potential abuse and he didn't report it to Stacy, that sounds like grounds for immediate removal of Kaiser to me.  To think they didn't discuss it, whatever, I will never believe that in a million years.  Who does Stacy think he is fooling?  Does he live under a rock?  And then to add a third joke, the Beechwood School Board is like, nothing to see here, Kaiser is our new man...

25 minutes ago, theguru said:

Because it would make Beechwood look bad, on his watch...  Imagine a grooming scandal that has potentially stretched over years, but was never investigated by the school, gets released to the public.  How do we know if there were any other victims or not?  Would Beechwood even report it if there were others?  

But instead of doing what was required, Stacy claims he arrived late and left early and had no knowledge of anything that needed to be reported, lol lol lol, no wonder his certification was pulled.  That is a joke of excuse.  Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, Kaiser was present for the entire meeting so for that defense to work for Stacy the assumption is Stacy and Kaiser never discussed the parts Stacey missed when Stacy was not in the meeting.  Again, another joke.  Assuming Kaiser had knowledge of the potential abuse and he didn't report it to Stacy, that sounds like grounds for immediate removal of Kaiser to me.  To think they didn't discuss it, whatever, I will never believe that in a million years.  Who does Stacy think he is fooling?  Does he live under a rock?  And then to add a third joke, the Beechwood School Board is like, nothing to see here, Kaiser is our new man...

Hmmmmmm.  You certainly have a strong point.  This whole thing certainly makes one realize the power of accusations and the need for transparency and let the facts fall where they might.  

So, I read over the article multiple times.  And the thing(s) that really sticks out to me that leaves me shocked and appalled is 1. It's not illegal for a teacher to have innapropriate contact with a student if that student is 18?  Really?  2. It's not illegal for a teacher to groom students?  Again, seriously? 3. Beechwood is still digging in saying nobody did anything wrong.  This is absolutely disgusting.  And regardless if charges are filed, Beechwood should have released that teacher's name to find out if there were any other victims.  This should be public record, if Beechwood even put anything  regarding this in his employment file.

19 minutes ago, New Colonel said:

So, I read over the article multiple times.  And the thing(s) that really sticks out to me that leaves me shocked and appalled is 1. It's not illegal for a teacher to have innapropriate contact with a student if that student is 18?  Really?  2. It's not illegal for a teacher to groom students?  Again, seriously? 3. Beechwood is still digging in saying nobody did anything wrong.  This is absolutely disgusting.  And regardless if charges are filed, Beechwood should have released that teacher's name to find out if there were any other victims.  This should be public record, if Beechwood even put anything  regarding this in his employment file.

For your number one, 18 is legal according to the KRS:

510.060 Rape in the third degree
(d) Being a person in a position of authority or position of special trust, as defined
in KRS 532.045, he or she engages in sexual intercourse with a minor under
eighteen (18) years old with whom he or she comes into contact as a result of
that position;

532.045
(a) "Position of authority" means but is not limited to the position occupied by a
biological parent, adoptive parent, stepparent, foster parent, relative,
household member, adult youth leader, recreational staff, or volunteer who is
an adult, adult athletic manager, adult coach, teacher, classified school
employee, certified school employee, counselor, staff, or volunteer for either a
residential treatment facility or a detention facility as defined in KRS
520.010(4), staff or volunteer with a youth services organization, religious
leader, health-care provider, or employer;

=================

For two, here is the Google/AI definition of grooming a minor:

The definition of "grooming a minor" refers to the process where someone builds a relationship, trust, and emotional connection with a child or young person for the purpose of manipulating, exploiting, or abusing them. 

Also from Google, here is the definition of mentoring a minor:

Mentoring a minor refers to the process of an older, more experienced individual (the mentor) providing guidance, support, and encouragement to a young person (the mentee) who is under the age of legal adulthood. This relationship aims to promote the minor's positive development in various areas, such as academic, social-emotional, and character development. 

=================

On grooming vs. mentoring, how can anyone prove what is grooming vs. what is mentoring until the adult offends?  Therefore, laws against grooming are complex and difficult to define and enforce.  However, this new law is a form of a no grooming law in KY:

https://bluegrasspreps.com/forums/topic/252867-new-section-added-to-krs-chapter-160-regulating-school-employee-communication-with-students/

==================

On three, I agree Beechwood is digging in because the powers that be at Beechwood knew all about this and they covered it up too.  Additionally, the school board hired a new super that according to the LINKNKY article appears to have had direct knowledge of the abuse and did nothing about it.  So, allegedly, you have a school board and a super that are complicit in the cover up of the abuse which makes it a hill Beechwood will die on defending themselves. I think that is exactly what we all see from the statement released by the Beechwood Board of Education today.  Here it is again.

Also on this topic from WCPO 9 and Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders: 

As long as a student is 18, it is not illegal in Kentucky for a teacher to have sex with that student. It is also not illegal for a teacher to groom a student.

Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders spoke with us about the gray area while discussing a former Beechwood teacher's admission to having sexual contact with a graduating senior. 

23 minutes ago, theguru said:

Also on this topic from WCPO 9 and Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders: 

As long as a student is 18, it is not illegal in Kentucky for a teacher to have sex with that student. It is also not illegal for a teacher to groom a student.

Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders spoke with us about the gray area while discussing a former Beechwood teacher's admission to having sexual contact with a graduating senior. 

I truly thought that even with 18 year olds, it was criminal in KY since it is an abuse of power.  Many states have such laws, and I thought KY was one, but I was mistaken.  I am not about to Google which states have such laws, I feel like that would put me on lists I don't want to be on.