July 22, 2014 at 12:02 p.m.
Teacher found guilty of disorderly conduct will keep job
Kremer will not be allowed to coach or participate in extra-curricular activities
Teacher found guilty of disorderly conduct will keep job
Following a closed discussion Monday evening, the School District of Rhinelander Board of Education voted to allow Jason Kremer, 37, to continue teaching but will prohibit him from coaching until he completes probation.
"The board has decided that because of what took place in court with the jail sentence and that sort of thing, the final decision of the board is that we feel that athletics is a big leadership position and thus he will not be allowed to coach or participate as a coach or an advisor in extra-curriculars until the successful completion of his probation. At that time, he will be given the opportunity, if he wishes, to apply for the (basketball coaching) job," board president Ron Counter said.
Kremer must serve two years probation and undergo counseling as part of his sentence. He was arrested in early May after he allegedly struck a woman in the face during an argument.
Counter said the board agreed that Kremer - who has served as a paid assistant coach for the RHS boys' basketball team and was in charge of its JV2 squad last winter - should step away from his coaching duties but did not feel he should be removed from the classroom.
"I don't think we had a lot of standing to be able to get rid of him as a teacher," Counter said. "(The incident that led to his conviction) took place outside (of the workplace) and didn't involved students."
Superintendent Kelli Jacobi said Kremer's reputation as a highly respected teacher with 13 years of service to the district played a role in the decision.
Kremer isn't the only district teacher to be in trouble with the law recently. Former RHS English teacher Joshua Juergens was fired last year after he was convicted of theft, manufacture/delivery of THC and possession of THC. The theft charges pertained to items Juergens took from the high school building.
He was sentenced to jail time in January.
Jacobi said the two cases are very different.
"There are huge differences in those cases. We're talking the difference between serious, serious felonies and a misdemeanor. We're talking about whether or not anything ever took place in the school district, during the school day," Jacobi said. "Jason (Kremer) has been a wonderful teacher in the district for a decade. He has been a respected teacher. The students like him, work well with him, and he's able to motivate and inspire them and get through some difficult content. That's huge."
"This incident that took place really had nothing to do with his employment. It took place on his private time and had nothing to do with other employees in the district, so we wouldn't treat him as though it had happened in the worksite," she added.
Jacobi said the main factor in determining whether an incident that happens outside of school will affect a teacher's job is student safety.
"Putting students in danger of any kind," she said. "Because we're talking high school level, and it really pertains to any level but specifically the high school level, the drug activity was a huge concern (in the Juergens case). That is not a concern with Mr. Kremer."
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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