MOUNT VERNON — The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday denied the Writ of Mandamus application filed on behalf of suspended Mount Vernon teacher John Freshwater, and dismissed the case.
Freshwater’s attorney, Kelly Hamilton, had filed the suit in an effort to force certain school board members to testify in an administrative hearing regarding the termination of Freshwater’s teaching contract.
In the spring of 2008 the school board voted to consider the termination of Freshwater’s employment following an investigation into allegations of professional misconduct by Freshwater. The investigative report by an independent firm concluded that he caused physical harm to a student with a high-frequency electrical generator during a science experiment, overstepped his bounds as a monitor of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, promoted particular religious beliefs in the classroom while denigrating others and was insubordinate in refusing to follow directives from school administrators.
The administrative hearing, presided over by referee R. Lee Shepherd, has been rescheduled, postponed or delayed on a number of occasions. As of press time, it is uncertain as to when the hearing will resume.
“The board is in the process of contacting the referee [through attorney David Millstone] to inform the referee of the court’s decision. The hope is that the hearing can now move forward to a conclusion without additional interruption, ” said Sarah Moore, the attorney representing the school board.
Moore is representing the school board in this specific case because Millstone is named as a defendant in the pending federal civil suit.