MARTINS FERRY — The Martins Ferry Board of Education discussed disciplining — or even terminating — a staff member for alleged inappropriate behavior and reviewed the district’s state scores Tuesday.

The board went into a closed-door session for more than a half hour to consider the dismissal or discipline of a public employee and to consider the investigation of charges or complaints.

Later, the board considered an agenda item “approving settlement agreement and release of claims,” went into another closed-door session for employment for about 15 minutes, then rescinded the motion.

Superintendent Jim Fogle released a statement following the meeting.

“The Martins Ferry School District’s Board of Education met (Tuesday) and passed a resolution to consider the termination of a middle school teacher. A student previously came forward with allegations of harassment against his teacher, after which the district initiated an investigation and the teacher was placed on leave. The investigation substantiated several of the allegations, and therefore, I recommend that the board vote to consider terminating the teacher’s contract as required by the Ohio Revised Code. The teacher will be provided notice of this action and the law will give the teacher the opportunity to have a hearing on this issue. The Martins Ferry School Board will continue to take all steps necessary to ensure that its primary mission of providing its students with a safe learning environment is fully met.”

He said there may “potentially” be a dismissal in the future. He said he does not know when a final decision might be made.

Fogle would not comment further on the matter.

Also, the district has received its state report card for the 2021-22 assessments. Districts received ratings of 1-5 stars on five categories.

In Achievement, or the ability to meet established thresholds, the district earned three stars, meeting state standards.

In Progress, or the growth of student learning in one year, the district received one star.

“We are under the state standard for this area. Obviously this will be a focus for us,” Fogle said. He said the COVID-19 pandemic, related lockdowns and distance learning contributed. “There’s no doubt there was learning loss.”

The district received four stars in Gap Closing, measuring the reduction of education gaps in sub-groups.

The district received two stars in Graduation, covering graduation rates of cohorts. These are students in the class of 2021 who began ninth grade in the fall of 2017 and students in the class of 2020 who entered ninth grade in fall of 2016.

Fogle said board members Chuck Probst and Jon Nagel are members of a task force on school improvement and are meeting with a state support team. Nagel said the next meeting is yet to be scheduled.

“They’re working side-by-side with our district leadership team, and we have a plan moving forward,” Fogle said.

The district received four stars in Early Literacy, covering reading skills in kindergarten through third grade.

“Really overall there’s a lot to be proud of. A couple of areas that we need to focus on, obviously we’ll continue to strive for improvement in these areas,” Fogle said.

Fogle said strategies to improve performance where needed include intervention and adding additional staff to meet the learning loss.

“We’ve also added additional aids to some classrooms, in addition to our summer camp, summer school that we did,” he said.

In other matters, the installation of new flooring at the high school is nearing completion, with two classrooms at a time being displaced. Work should be completed by January.

“It’s really not been much of an interruption (in learning),” Fogle said.

Also renovation of the Coach Fred Thomas Track Complex was scheduled to be completed this week, but rain may delay striping the lanes.

“As soon as that paint dries, we’ll look at reopening the track,” Fogle said, adding that some additional work may need done on the infield. He commended Vasco Asphalt Co. for the work, which began at the end of summer.

Also, following the accidental fatal shooting of a St. Clairsville toddler late September, the district is offering assistance to family members who attend school in the district.

“We’re always here for our kiddos, and we’re looking after the siblings and providing them with any level of support that they might need during these terrible times.”