School district maintains proactive stance on teacher sexual misconduct

The arrest of a former Leavelle McCampbell Middle School teacher on criminal sexual misconduct charges is the fourth Aiken County incident in the past 15 months related to inappropriate teacher involvement with students.

Another former Leavelle McCampbell teacher is included in that count.

The teachers' connection to Leavelle McCampbell is a coincidence, said Aiken Superintendent Dr. Beth Everitt and Associate Superintendent Dr. Cecilia Davidson.

"They are totally unrelated," said Davidson. "These teachers never worked in the building at the same time."

Joseph Magni Jr., 28, of Lexington was arrested by Richland County sheriff's deputies Sunday on allegations he had sex with a 14-year-old student at the school and at an Aiken movie theater in May and June. He had worked at Leavelle McCampbell in the 2008-09 school year and left the district in June. District officials said they were not aware of any sexual abuse allegations at the time Magni left.

Last month, an LBC Middle School teacher was arrested on charges related to sexual misconduct with a student while she was teaching at Leavelle McCampbell. The latest arrest and the others are disheartening, Davidson said.

What the district has done and continues to do is take steps to prevent such incidents, Everitt said. All new teachers get information in professional development sessions about state law and district policies. Every year, about 50 teachers and administrators attend Summer Institute - a five-day seminar that provides them with information about resources in the community and ways to recognize when children are having problems.

"We want our staff to be aware of any situation," Everitt said. "If something seems unusual or strange, if a student seems uncomfortable, we want our teachers to talk to them. If concerns are raised, we don't ignore them. We continue to providing training for staff, principals and parents. Some schools have done awareness training, and our churches do, too, to help prevent abusive situations."

South Carolina's Code of Laws has statutes related to suspensions, hearings and dismissal of teachers for violations of rules and regulations, including gross immorality.

"We have a sexual harassment policy in place for both staff-to-staff issues and staff-to-student," Davidson said. "They are reviewed by administrators with faculty and staff as part of our beginning-of-the-year process."

Before prospective teachers can get formal certification, the State Department of Education does fingerprint checks. During the hiring process, the Aiken County School District does SLED checks on new hires, Davidson said.

When allegations are made against a teacher, the faculty member is placed on administrative leave with pay pending an investigation, said Aiken County School Board Attorney Bill Burkhalter. If the teacher is convicted or pleads guilty or no contest to any charges, he or she is subject to dismissal.

Everitt reiterated that training and discussion on sexual harassment and abuse issues will be addressed again.

"We're going to be proactive," she said. "When something is reported, we follow up on it. In many cases, there is nothing to it. But we can't ignore them."

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.