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MADISON TWP. – A clap and a cheer rang out from the audience Monday night when Madison board members voted 3-2 not to accept the resignation of the teacher and softball coach charged with sexual battery for allegedly having sex with an underage student.

Board members rejected Monday night, May 19, the resignation of David "Jamie" Wagner, 32, from all of his contracts with the district, including eighth grade history teacher and head softball coach. Board President Glenn Cappel, Vice President Tim Young and board member David French voted against accepting the resignation.

Wagner, a former president of the Madison Education Association, was charged Friday with two counts of sexual battery stemming from allegations that he had engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old student in April and May at his Monroe home, according to the Butler County Sheriff's Office.

The alleged sexual relationship was discovered after deputies began investigating Wagner for an alleged relationship with an 18-year-old student. A family friend of the student reported that the 18-year-old Madison High School student had been receiving sexually-explicit text messages from Wagner while out of town, according to a sheriff's report.

At the start of Monday night's meeting, the father of the 18-year-old urged board members to reject Wagner's resignation, which he gave to the district Friday, according to Superintendent Chris Cline.

"I would ask the board to re-evaluate that and not accept his resignation and instead start termination procedures for Mr. Wagner," the father said.

Following the vote, board members seemed unsure of what the next step would be. Cappel said the board would meet again in the next few days.

The parent of one of the students involved in the investigation said that he hopes the community will continue to support the softball team, which is in playoffs and ranked sixth in the state.

"We are hopeful that the community support the girl's softball team," he said. "In the grand scheme of things, that's pretty important to us."

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2805 or mgildow@coxohio.com.

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