KENOSHA, Wis. — Several parents gathered at the Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD) office Monday afternoon, their anger growing over a teacher's alleged grooming relationship with a student.
Kenosha Police investigated and determined there was no criminal case to be made. However, parents said the district needs to act and that they want this teacher fired.
"I just can't do nothing. I can't be quiet," KUSD parent, Brittany Lawton said.
"It's terrifying," her friend, Ashlyn Witting, echoed.
It's the reaction of many Kenosha parents after finding out a middle school teacher at KTEC West was being investigated for an alleged relationship with a student.
Despite having school-aged kids, this story hits even closer to home for these two mothers.
"I know this person. Their family is pretty deeply intertwined with my family," Witting explained.
"We were friends when we were younger and it's just, it makes it worse, and a lot more, I feel more empowered to do something," Lawton added.
Both Lawton and Witting said they've known the middle school teacher since they were in grade school.
That's why they organized a protest Monday afternoon calling on district leaders to hold the accused teacher and other school leaders accountable.
"If they were actually hearing us, then it would be the principal, the vice principal, the HR director, this teacher, this teacher's wife. There's so many people that are breaking so many rules, and it's not enough to even just fire him," Lawton explained.
TMJ4 confirmed the accused teacher's wife also teaches at KTEC West, but the district will not say whether or not she's being investigated.
Since we started reporting this last week, the district has refused to answer most questions about the accused teacher.
Court documents show the teacher was allegedly communicating with a student on Snapchat after school hours.
We obtained a copy of KUSD's employee handbook from 2019, the most up-to-date version we could find online. It explicitly states "Employees shall not communicate with students via their personal email addresses, social media accounts, home phones, or cell phones." The handbook also advises discretion when teachers are talking with parents on social media.
"It's terrifying to entrust your children with a team, essentially of educators, who are failing them. Intentionally failing them," Witting said.
"I can't let this continue to be swept under the rug and let it continue to happen to more kids," Lawton said.
TMJ4 has requested an up-to-date handbook from the district through an open records request.
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