(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
A science teacher at Tremper High School on Kenosha’s south side resigned last Friday, April 26, 2024, according to a district spokesperson. KCE is acutely, aware, however that HR Director Kevin Neir allows teachers to resign, even many days after being fired.
According to multiple sources, who are parents of students at Tremper High School, neither the school, nor the district are being transparent about an alleged investigation of the teacher having “inappropriate contact” with several students.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, this teacher has been licensed since October 20, 2023 as a “short term substitute.”
One mother told KCE that she was upset because she was lead to believe that she the teacher was fired and she is upset Principal, Steve Knecht, didn’t tell parents about the alleged conduct.
A student of Tremper told KCE that he believed this teacher has a job already in a new school district. “He was social media friends with most students, gave most students his cell phone number for texting, and used to send us DM videos of him vaping.”
Believe it or not, KCE has not heard back from KUSD as to the nature of the investigation or why students or parents weren’t notified. We also contacted Principal Knecht, who did not immediately respond to our questions.
KCE will release the identity of the teacher and details, if and when details of misconduct are learned via public records requests.
71 Responses
Another one brushed under the rug?!
Can’t be…. It would be very unusual for KUSD
kevin thank you for bringing this situation to light. this grosses me out knowing my children are with a bunch of pedos
Steve Knecht was the one that hired Jeff Spencer at Indian trail because Jeff’s dad was a buddy of Knecht. Police chief had to call superintendent of Kusd to tell her to let police in to investigate. No investigation of why Spencer was hired even thou he was the least qualified candidate and told the hiring committee he was breaking rules at his former school. And no one thought when he showed up his 18 year old girlfriend that was a former player for him was a bad sign at all.
He broke rules right away when he was hired and nothing was done .
Knecht is the one to blame for his hire and kusd tried to hide it under the rug
Another cover up by KUSD.
WHAT ELSE ARE THEY HIDING?
Is this the sixth or seventh KUSD employee this year alone who has had “inappropriate” contact or communications with underage students that we know of? What is going on at KUSD?
They need to start at the top and toss pathetic leadership starting with Weiss.
They dont really care about the students all they care about is a check
I believe the term is “was resigned.” 🙂
The leadership chief sure has his hands full this week.
He deserves a raise! Lol.
Has anyone done a background check on him??? But hell the idiots in Kenosha voted Landry onto the board, and her husband is a pedo too.
Hmmm. Calling and texting students and social media friends? You mean like shawnell gross and Josh barker? That should not be allowed!
Who are these two I keep seeing in the comments? More pedos?
Buddies with all the students and supported Martice fuller when he murdered a kusd student
Yes! He even calls all the kids son, and they call him dad. It’s a fucken weird relationship. Especially when he supports fuller and was banned from court for jury tampering. This is your KUSD.
That’s f’n creepy! Where do they find these people?
Looks like both of them are still at Bradford. I guess a murder is not enough to be fired
Shawnell was a “peaked in high school (probably junior high)” study hall monitor and “assistant coach” back when I went to Bradford in the early 2000’s. I’m not surprised by any of the mentions about him in the comments.
Sounds like someone else peaked in High School as well
And the Hits just keep on Coming !
I barely had to start this old saying and predictable text just filled it in !
The writing is on the wall ! For all you employees full or part time, the party is over. These parents and students are rethinking their interactions and subtle innuendoes and are finding you out.
Quit now while you still have time to find a job for next year somewhere else. Then you’re not our problem anymore.
But having KUSD on your resume might say it all !
All part of Jimmy P’s link-crew?
How many pedos will it take to make KUSD open their eyes?
If we got this guy to the altar I don’t care how he got there. What I do care about is the number of issues that the school district seems to be having with employees lately. There is always going to be a bad apple but lately it seems like the school district has then tolerating a bunch of them. Still at least this teacher did the right thing and save the taxpayers the time and expense of having to deal with Termination of which there is no guarantee it will be successful
Admittedly, it’s better for the employee if they quit rather than get fired. But if they are fired and then are allowed to resign after so the record looks better that I think is wrong. If they wanted to resign at the start or the middle of the investigation, then they could’ve done that and saved their face on their record then. But they rode out the investigation. Waited for the results and ended up getting fired. That was their choice. They should not be given the benefit of being allowed to resign after the fact so their record looks better. If you’re fired you’re fired take it and you’re done. If you quit before you’re fired then that’s a choice you make and you’re making that gamble. Win or lose punitively when you fire somebody you are making a mark on their record and if that’s the case, so be it .
When you fire an employee, you are making a statement. I don’t know what the laws are on recommendations good or bad, but being fired is a statement on its own. In this case for a school to fire a teacher, you are in a way protecting students on down the line because chances are another school will not hire a teacher that was fired by a school.
You’re right (philosophically and partially) and wrong (legally). Being fired, except for a probationary employee, is a process, often costly, with many steps that in the end may not work if the employee successfully challenges the termination decision. It may also become more difficult for the employer to fill the vacancy if the legal status of the termination is in limbo. There may also be entitlement to unemployment compensation. With a resignation you’re out the door as of the effective date of the resignation. Also note that not all resignations are created equal. There are “friendly” resignations such as retirement, leaving a job to take a better job, spouse transferred, sick kids, etc. And then there are people who are essentially involuntarily resigned. Also, not all terminations are firings for misconduct. Funding for a position could be eliminated, a limited term assignment may expire or even an employer and employee may disagree on some things and part ways without any wrongdoing by either party. Also, as a matter of law, employees have the right to quit (Art. I, Sec. 2, Wisconsin Constitution).
All of this differentiation is for a reason. “Protecting other students on down the line” may or may not happen. The operative question — and I’ve been involved in many personnel decisions — is whether the separated employee is eligible for rehiring. This is true regardless of whether a person leaves via resignation or termination. It is a standard question in background investigations (along with whether the employee is sober, of good moral character, etc.). And, like it or not, people who have been fired are rehired all the time. (One of the chief deputies at the sheriff’s department noted that there are deputies who didn’t make it there that had successful careers elsewhere because they were a better “fit” at the other job.)
So, what about “protecting other students on down the line?” That’s a very good point and I repeated it because it is. Today, many employers refuse to furnish any information other than dates of employment, job title(s) and wages because of the fear of lawsuits or even criminal prosecution. They may or may not cooperate with a background check. The hiring employer is left to guess, ask the applicant and hope for an honest response or rely on outside information that may or may not be reliable. The former employer doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the future employer nor do they have any obligation to do so. They want to protect their ass. There are even times when former employers who gave good recommendations about an ex-employee got sued if they covered up misconduct so many employers simply refuse to provide more than basic information. The best guess the hiring employer can make is when there’s an abrupt departure there was a problem. If a teacher leaves a job midyear that’s automatically suspicious. Same with an employee who is taking a pay cut at the new job. That’s why a good background check, including questioning references, is critical. One thing I’ve done is interview people who were not listed as references such as neighbors or coworkers. Nobody in their right mind is going to list a reference who will say bad things. Also, if a former supervisor was a jerk and badmouths the applicant, the comments of others may reveal that the former boss was the problem. There are also plenty of instances where good employees were fired, particularly in law enforcement where an honest cop may not last long in some departments. Write the mayor a ticket for OWI and goodbye is one example I know of. Another was where the rookie refused to falsify a report that said the black prisoner who was beaten in the elevator took the first swing. Or a deputy sheriff who left her job because of sexual harassment.*
As an employer who hires and fires those decisions are very difficult. The label under which an applicant left a job isn’t often as important as the real reason(s) why and that’s where good interviewing and an objective background check are critical. If someone has been “resigned” from a job it’s pretty evident that it wasn’t voluntary.
Sorry for the length but it really is a good point because there are employers who do intentionally conceal relevant information about former employees (bad and good). Oh, and the honest cops I mentioned all went on to have successful careers with other agencies. One, in fact, is the chief of a university police department.
Lots of insights there.
Let’s hope that all teachers fired or fired and then allowed to resign find their names in news reports.
A simple google of anyone’s name finds virtually everything. The future employers can take it from there.
They do that (at least the smart ones). A friend (retired Coca Cola CEO) says that often that saves them from making a bad hiring decision but in 11% of the situations they find out stuff that works in the applicant’s favor.
Very informative . Will you be sending us a bill ? 😎
I absolutely do not care anymore. You people in Kenosha keep voting for this, you get what you get. I am tired of hearing what is going on, did you vote, no … suck it up buttercup. My kids are out of the system, I vote now to give all you idiots in Kenosha what you want. Bloody idiots
Exactly
I second your comment im so glad this is my sons last year in school and I’m even happier that both decided to go the trades and entrepreneurial way because the KUSD is a joke some of the videos my sons has shown me of who these teachers teach and how they conduct classes these future kids are the ones i feel sad for. And they people running this town lord they are so worthless but hey that’s what the tax money goes for, for them to make dumbass decisions for others lives. Thats why i don’t participate in the Circus that the City of Kenosha is. Its Beautiful to live here as far as the landscape but anything else is a joke.
Pedos have been in the classrooms under your nose the entire time. Just because you got lucky you or your kid wasn’t a victim, does not make this a new thing. My daughter was contacted by this creep years ago and he still went on to teach after she did everything right. Making it political is so grossly misinformed and disrespectful to the rest of us that have been there, done that and you look like a fool.
How many pedophile teachers is this in the past year? No one cares that the common denominator is rampant porn and radical gender ideology in the schools?
Montenia “Monte” C. Nelson (Bradford)
Nathan Gardner (Indian Trail)
Michael Russel (Indian Trail)
Melvin Tart (Indian Trail)
Christian Enwright (KTEC)
David E. DeBerge (KUSD Substitute)
Joseph Pitts (Lakeview)
https://kenoshacountyeye.com/2024/06/03/tremper-teacher-who-showed-signs-of-grooming-allowed-to-resign-in-lieu-of-termination-details-revealed/
At some point….the principals at these schools and Weiss have started sweating a lot.
In a sports organization, the GM can only put so much blame on other people before they are the ones who get fired.
This has become a systemic issue with KUSD and it’s alarming….and Weiss controls this district. At some point, they are going to drop the axe on him because it’s easier to do so than firing 6 principals at other schools.
The fact Indian Trail has had 3 this year tells me they should be calling for him, too (and he has done a bunch of other dumb shit to warrant it, too).
To clarify my last statement about Indian Trail, they should be calling for the principal’s head….not Weiss’.
Weiss is not worth saving, he’s the head of of this dysfunctional monster.
KUSD has crested a pro-trans, pro-pedo culture. Sick!
I can’t keep track anymore… how many perv’s dis they try to sweep under the rug at KUSD this year? I keep picturing Ruder, at her computer, with flames all around typing madly and repeating to herself, “EVERYTHING IS FINE…EVERYTHING IS FINE…”
So when the teachers were leaving and the school was shut down during the pandemic Just exactly who and what kind of people did you think were going to fill these spots?
Nobody cared then. They didn’t care about your kids then why would they care now? Why didn’t anybody protest that? 🫣
All this liberal bullshit…kenosh keeps voting for liberals then turn around like I CANT BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING! Its almost like the kind of people voting for them have no idea how bad and horrible people can be. Hmm 🤔
Thank you so much Kevin for showing Kenosha just exactly what the consequences of their liberal choices are. It will take at least 4/5 years to clean up the mess they made in the schools.
It will take generations not 4 or 5 years. You have to account for the teachers and admin coming in that are trained in this garbage
Exactly…They know who their hiring they’re just doing favors you know probably getting some type of compensation or favors for hiring them cause we all know Kenosha is a favor for favor type of city.
Right? Like random people getting top pay county positions ( the very tippy top too) that are fresh out of nowhere because they married somebody that is related to somebody on some board
Wait you can google this information I believe there’s a list with names and salaries! Maybe you’d care more when you see that they aren’t volunteering.
Since we are all learning a lesson on how to vote this week.
What the hell are you talking about? The libs like them and protect them. Or they see nothing wrong with it.
According to all studies, pedophilia knows no political affiliation.
The libs’ politically correct term is “Minor Attracted Persons”. They support and enable it, “love is love” according to these pedo lovers.
Resigned meaning pedo gets hired by another school with a fresh set of potential victims. Maybe another billion dollar referendum is needed?
kusd what the heck !!!!!
We send are children to school to become victims, CLEAN IT UP ASAP
Why act so surprised? Kenosha you’re a victim of your own doing ! Your vote has allowed all of this to take place . You put Socialist in the drivers seat . They make the rules there DEI program allows all forms of abnormal behavior to be tolerated. Yet you gladly turn your kids to them and then act so shock that things like this happen. My guess is this is just a peek behind the green door.
Reform starts from the top ! You keep fillling the school board with perverse thinkers you deserve what your child gets !
Thank you Thank you Thank you but you now they gotta blame someone besides themselves because no one likes to take accountability. But honestly sometimes whats the point of voting when they all help themselves behind closed doors. Im glad my kids are grown now and moving forward my grandkids will be homeschooled. Sacrifices gotta be made of changes aint being made.
KUSD is a dangerous place for children.
Allowing them to “resign” makes it possible to just move to a different district and teach; there will be nothing in there files or background checks to alert the next potential employer that there was ever a problem or concern.
A common background check won’t uncover anything that isn’t actually “documented”, and the only thing in documents will be the “resignation”.
The schools (and not just the KUSD and WI schools) do this crap all the time, just push their problems along to the next unsuspecting district.
It’s despicable, evil, and unforgivable; but also absolutely the way it’s most often done.
Not just the school district. But we need to be careful because “allowing” a person to resign is a bit of a misnomer. Someone has the right to resign (yes, right — Wis. Constitution, art. I, sec. 2). Even if someone is fired it doesn’t mean that will keep someone else from hiring them.
Someone should check into why Knecht was promoted to principal. There are lots of stories about knecht and a previous superintendent having an inappropriate relationship.
Kick Knecht to the curb!!! He’s an arrogant, condescending, self serving asshole! He started off at Bradford, moved to the ESC (hopped around a few different departments) then went over to Tremper. Pick a job & stick with it! Remember when Bradford fired the principal for some bullshit about a teacher repeating exactly what a student said? Meanwhile at the same time over at Tremper the cheer team gave out an inappropriate mock award that offended the banquet attendees. Guess who was the principal at Tremper at that time? Knecht should have been fired over that! Weird how that didn’t make the paper & it was swept under the rug. Knecht has always been an ass kisser & doesn’t give a shit about the students or staff! He’s just concerned with how his next move will benefit him.
Knecht is abhorrent. When I attended Bradford, Knecht was a Gym Teacher and Athletic Director, my older sister went to get the “B” patch for her letterman jacket for cheerleading. Knecht chuckled and said “Cheerleading, that’s not a real sport”, my sister, not one to stray away from conflict clapped back saying “Yeah, and a gym teacher isn’t a real teacher”. His ego seemed to have taken a hit, where he told her to watch her tone. This was back in 2005 before cell phone videos, but back when parents seemed sorta care and my parents had words with him as well.
Can the chemistry teacher go next? I’ve heard horrible things in regards to how she speaks to students and she’s an overall inefficient teacher.
Pitts was out fast from Lakeview thanks to Beth Ormseth. Its a shame she didnt remain as superintendint cus she dont mess around.
Enright wouldnt be investigated if Kevin didnt fight. The Ktec principal needs to be fired now. What are they waiting on.
The end of the school year it ends in about 6 weeks
where is Lance’s misconduct complaint report I’m sure they’re over there hiding behind a reputation too 🧐
I wish Kevin would just kiss me already. I give him so much attention, I wish he’d notice me 😩
Sarge is that you? Or your pro tip chubby little friend Joel? Perhaps you two could sort it out together 😉
Montenia Nelson displayed inappropriate behavior and grooming to say the least. I hope he is not at his wife’s day care Ann’s Wonderland Day Care. Ann Morris-Nelson get rid of that creep and question your staff.