MiddletownJournal.com

Coach arrested on charges with second student

By Megan Gildow | Friday, May 16, 2008, 05:43 PM

Madison softball coach Jamie Wagner was arrested this evening for sexual battery for allegedly engaging in sexual activity with a second student, according to sheriff’s deputies.

David “Jamie” Wagner, 32, was charged with two counts of sexual battery (a third degree felony) for allegedly having sexual relations with a 17-year-old student.

Wagner is already on paid leave due to an investigation into an alleged relationship with an 18-year-old student at Madison High School. A family friend of the student told deputies Sunday, May 11, that Wagner had been sending sexually-explicit text messages to the 18-year-old while she was out of town.

The 18-year-old acknowledged that Wagner had sent her text messages but told deputies that the text messages were not sexual in nature.

Wagner has taught 8th grade history at Madison since 2002 and was elected president of the district’s teacher’s union in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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Board vice president speaks out

By Megan Gildow | Tuesday, May 13, 2008, 12:20 PM

Middletown school board Vice President Katie McNeil explains her “no” vote on the April 24 athletic agenda — which included the supplemental contracts for new football coach Jason Krause — in today’s Journal.

At the April 24 board meeting, the dissenting board members, McNeil and President the Rev. Greg Tyus, declined to explain their votes against the recommendation.

Today, McNeil explains that she voted “no” because she is frustrated that the district is not open enough with the cost of recruiting coaches and seems to place football at a higher priority than other sports.

Tyus still has not explained his vote, citing issues with the personnel agenda and that potential litigation prevented him from commenting further.

What do you think of McNeil’s letter to the editor?

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First of the roving meetings tonight

By Megan Gildow | Monday, May 12, 2008, 05:58 PM

I’m getting ready to head down to the Middletown school board meeting at Amanda Elementary tonight.

This is the first of the district’s newly-implemented roving board meetings. Amanda was selected because of some of the things the school has been doing recently and because it is one of about four elementary buildings that already have the necessary technology to hold the meeting.

The agenda is pretty light for this meeting. The board will vote on a new principal for Creekview Elementary and three head coaches: girls and boys soccer and volleyball.

The meeting should be broadcast on TV Middletown tonight as usual, barring any technical difficulties.

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Coaching conflict: A closer look

By Megan Gildow | Sunday, May 11, 2008, 07:53 PM

In today’s paper, my colleague Skip Weaver and I delve into the hiring process that was used to select Jason Krause to be the next head football coach in Middletown.

We talked to district officials, community committee members and Krause about the process the district went through and other issues that have been raised since the district announced April 24 that Krause would be the new head coach and an academic interventionist at Middletown High School.

While there are some who seem to question the process the district went through, it seems most people are agreeing now that the community should back Krause and the Middies and make sure that the students are getting what they need from a coach and teacher.

Sports reporter Skip Weaver will have an interview with Krause soon that will focus on his plans and goals for the Middies.

Do you think the process was fair? Do you have any remaining questions that haven’t been answered?

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Board will vote on new elementary principal

By Megan Gildow | Friday, May 9, 2008, 07:12 PM

The Middletown school board will vote Monday night on a new principal for Creekview Elementary.

Pending board approval, Derrick Bobbitt will be the third principal at Creekview in as many years, according to the personnel agenda. Bobbitt is currently assistant principal at Alliance Academies of Cincinnati, according to the Ohio Department of Education.

This school year, Joan Stoutenbrough has served as interim principal at Creekview. She took over after Jon Graft resigned at the end of the 2006-07 school year to become director of Head Start for Butler County.

The board will vote Monday night on a recommendation to hire Bobbitt.

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When board members vote ‘no’

By Megan Gildow | Friday, May 9, 2008, 11:37 AM

In April, two local schools boards, Madison and Middletown, split on votes relating to personnel in the district and in both cases the dissenting board members declined to explain why they had voted “no.”

Madison board members Brian McGuire and David French cast “no” votes against drug testing employees and suspending the contract of a teacher as a reduction in force due to the elimination of the athletic director position and Middletown split on votes when board President the Rev. Greg Tyus and Vice President Katie McNeil voted against personnel actions that included the hiring of new football coach Jason Krause.

All four board members declined to comment on why they had voted no, giving vague answers about not agreeing with the decisions or concerns that it would affect the district’s academic achievements.

McNeil submitted a letter to the editor that will run Tuesday explaining her decision to vote no. According to the letter, McNeil disagreed with the process to hire the new coach and a “growing frustration” that the district is not being open about how much it costs to bring in coaches.

As elected officials, board members are representing the constituents when they cast votes on school issues. Since the recent “no” votes, some community members have expressed disappointment that board members did not tell the public why they voted the way they did and some are drawing their own conclusions from the board members’ silence.

All of these were personnel issues and most of them concerned specific employees not large groups.

Do you think board members should cast “no” votes without explaining the reasons to the public? Should they always say why they vote the way they do or are there some circumstances where it is appropriate to keep their reasons to themselves?

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Middletown football coach: Got questions?

By Megan Gildow | Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 01:00 PM

My colleague Skip Weaversweaver@coxohio.comr and I are working on a story about the process Middletown City Schools went through to hire new football coach Jason Krause.

We’ll be talking to district officials, coaching candidates, and community members who were involved in the process.

What I’m wondering now is what do YOU want to know? What questions do you guys think are most important to see answered?

Send us an e-mail or leave your questions in the comments and I’ll do my best to get them answered.

Skip will also be sitting down with the man himself, Krause, soon for a Q&A. If you’ve got questions for the new coach, send them to sweaver@coxohio.com.

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