WTOL sat inside the Rossford Board of Education building all day long Monday in search of answers regarding the resignation and investigation of Patrick Murtha, former high school assistant principal.
Around 3 p.m., WTOL received a phone call from superintendent Dan Creps after being at the building since 11:30 a.m, waiting for Creps to get back. Staffers told WTOL he was out to lunch, running errands and reading to kindergartners.
Murtha no longer works for Rossford Schools, but is still being sent a paycheck until July 31.
"That's something, again, we go back to our legal counsel and advice of counsel and the elements of the investigation that were discussed," Creps told WTOL over the phone.
Creps said he’ll get a letter from Rossford Schools stating his positions, but there won’t be a recommendation after resigning amid misconduct allegations.
An internal investigation found he was responsible, but it didn’t rise to the level of sexual harassment because the students who were involved apparently didn’t suffer academically, a district report said.
It’s unclear how those factors are correlated and Creps couldn’t add much more context.
"I know what the report says," Creps said. "And what I'm telling you is that the findings of the report has determined that it did not rise to the level of sexual harassment."
When we asked Creps how that related to educational performance, he said, "All I can tell you is that I would just refer back to our legal counsel and the outcome of their findings."
WTOL reached out to the Ohio Department of Education. In a statement, a spokesperson said ODE couldn’t confirm if there was an open investigation because it was confidential.
However, Rossford Schools provided WTOL an email confirming the education department is, in fact, investigating the matter.
WTOL asked Creps if there was anything school officials were hiding. He said, "Absolutely not. We've released everything. In fact, the evening that the board met and decided on the agreement with Mr. Murtha. All of those elements were released at the time."
Certain documents were withheld until WTOL filed an additional public records request.
Rossford’s school board is scheduled to meet Wednesday night.