BEXLEY, Ohio (WCMH) — The night before the first day of school, Bexley teachers filled Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting, clothed in district attire and steadfast with a message that the district needs change.

Board members, Superintendent Jason Fine and other administrators addressed concerns over student and staff support, but many teachers — upset with how two teachers left the district this summer over their handling of a playground incident where a third-grader who has autism was restrained — said the message fell flat.

“District admin are telling people what they want to hear, but the teachers feel completely unsupported,” one staff member told NBC4. 

The staff member is not being named because – as every staff member NBC4 attempted to talk to after the meeting confirmed – teachers are afraid to speak to media on the record. Some believed there were stipulations in their contracts preventing them from making statements, but the consensus was that either way, it was not worth upsetting the district. 

Despite rows of chairs being mostly filled at Bexley City Hall, just one person spoke during the public comment period, Union President Jay Scott, who spoke for four minutes, referencing the incident that began all of this.

In May, two teachers were placed on leave pending an investigation into their restraint of the third-grader. Both resigned in July. According to comments from one of the teachers, a police report and surveillance video supplied to NBC4, the student did not listen to verbal instructions while on a playground swing, and the teachers eventually felt they had to restrain him, which they said was for safety reasons.

According to the reports, he was restrained for several minutes and appeared to hit or kick at the teachers sometimes when not restrained. When he was released, he went out of the camera’s range, and the teacher said she kept him away from others, although the student’s mother has publicly disagreed with this report. Only the two teachers were seen on video physically interacting with the student.

“For years, we have reached out with concerns and requests for help to know with any confidence what should be done in situations like what unfolded in May, and none of those efforts were met with administrative action,” Scott said. “Leading into the summer, we did not have administrative leadership, accountability and support.” 

Scott said, however, the union and many teachers are cautiously optimistic after recent discussions with Fine. 

Fine asked three staff members to discuss the district’s updated response plan. It had three prongs: prevention, intervention and post-intervention. And it emphasized three levels of training. All staff members would receive training from the Crisis Prevention Institute, although this is not new and staff have received such training for at least two years. 

Barb Gentille Green, director of student services and accessibility, said specific staff will also be trained as part of a “green team” that could be called on to provide support when a student becomes emotionally dysregulated. Gentille Green said these staff members will have specific communication devices and additional training to support students.

In extreme circumstances, staff can also call a crisis team, Gentille Green said, which will be made up of threat assessment-trained staff who respond when a student is a threat to themselves or others.

The intervention segment recommended teachers seek support early, and post-intervention planning revolved around ensuring communication was prioritized and proper after-incidents occurred.

When board members asked when these initiatives would be able to be implemented, a timeline was not specified.

“We’re going to have to work out kinks. We are also a small district where all of our teachers have full schedules,” Chief Academic Officer Casey Cosgray said. “When a crisis happens, there aren’t necessarily a lot of people to come running. If they are available, they’re in their planning time, meeting with parents, meeting with students.”

At this, teachers sighed, shook their heads and whispered among themselves.

Lindsay Ammirante, one of the two who resigned, told NBC4 earlier that she tried to ask for help, she was a licensed intervention specialist and she attempted de-escalation initially. After the meeting, some teachers said it was unclear how her actions differed from the updated support plan.

Once the superintendent update on student and staff support was finished, nearly all of the teachers in the audience left, despite over an hour of the meeting remaining. According to the staff member who spoke with NBC4 anonymously, the consensus among teachers was that staff feel unsupported and have lost trust in district administrators.

“When we ask for help and support, we don’t get it,” they said. “The presentation was lip service as they can talk all they want but no actions are actually supporting our needs.”