Ken King, left, and Eric McDonald, right, take their 8-year-old daughters, Kylie McDonald, front left, and Rachel King, home from Kesterson Elementary School on Friday. The fathers said they were upset that a teacher at the school, Mark Zana, was arrested this week for inappropriate sexual behavior with a minor and were relieved their children weren't in Zana's class. Photo by John Gurzinski. Students and parents leave Kesterson Elementary School on Friday. Teacher Mark Zana was arrested this week on two counts of lewdness with a minor and 10 counts of possessing child pornography. Photo by John Gurzinski. Mark Zana School district in process of terminating teacher

When Tom Welzbacher Jr. met his daughter's teacher, he got a weird vibe.

"He didn't really make eye contact with me," Welzbacher said of his meeting with fifth-grade teacher Mark Zana at Kesterson Elementary School last week.

Zana, who is also a gymnastics coach, was arrested Thursday on two counts of lewdness with a minor younger than 14 and 10 counts of possessing child pornography.

Zana's arrest, and that of another school district employee this week, had parents and sexual abuse prevention advocates expressing concern Friday about the district's hiring procedures, particularly in the midst of a teacher shortage. Including this week's arrests, at least 26 district employees have been arrested for inappropriate sexual behavior with a minor in the past five years.

"I definitely think there can be more (to the district's background checks)," said Miranda Smith, prevention education coordinator for the Nevada Coalition Against Sexual Violence. "It's not covering those areas where crimes weren't reported, or they were wiped off the books or records were sealed."

Clark County School District officials, who are in the process of terminating Zana, called a news conference Friday to explain their procedures. Officials said background checks, which include local, state and federal criminal record searches, are done to protect students.

But Smith said school officials could do more classroom visits and encourage colleagues to report suspicious behavior. The entire community needs to watch out for tell-tale signs such as a teacher spending too much time with a student, driving a student home or having after-school contact, she said.

Eric McDonald and his friend Ken King, who were picking up their 8-year-old daughters from Kesterson on Friday, said they were upset to learn about the allegations against Zana, one of the most popular and visible teachers at the school.

"Why didn't any administration or staff pick up on it?" King asked. "The school district needs to step up and notice the signs.

"It's no excuse to say we checked, we're shorthanded and we overlooked it."

Students described Zana as an energetic and warm teacher. He called some "small fries," played catch with them and often doled out Jolly Rancher candies.

Welzbacher said school officials told his daughter's class that Zana was leaving but would be back in 10 days. After seeing TV news reporters outside her school Thursday afternoon, Welzbacher's daughter went home and learned from news accounts what happened to her teacher. She cried, Welzbacher said.

"We did quiz her extensively, saying, 'Are you sure there isn't anything you need to tell us?' " he said. "She wanted to know what happened."

Police said Zana had inappropriately touched two female students at Kesterson and kept a collection of child pornography on his home computer. Colorado authorities alerted local police to Zana after a former student of his came forward there alleging he had abused her.

Smith said the school should hold a community meeting for parents to talk about Zana and bring in a sexual abuse expert to speak to students. Parents also should talk to their children about sexual abuse often to ensure they know to report it.

"Use correct language, because that's the language they're going to hear in sex-ed and on television. It's very important we don't make those words taboo," she said.

Zana's arrest came three days after another district employee was booked on three counts of lewdness with a minor younger than 14. Las Vegas police said Ruben Valle, a teacher's assistant at Variety School, inappropriately touched an 8-year-old at the Southern Terrace community clubhouse where he also worked.

"I was very shocked," said Trish Schepers, principal at Variety School.

The school has about 140 students with severe disabilities ranging in age from 3 to 22. There are 100 staff members, and Schepers said a teacher's aid is never allowed to be alone with the students. They are accompanied by a special education teacher.

Las Vegas police are continuing to investigate Valle and are working with Variety School to contact students he might have supervised and their parents, said Lt. John Bradshaw.

The number of district employees arrested for similar charges is a small percentage of the 30,000 district employees, Bradshaw said. There are more than 4,000 sexual offenders registered in Las Vegas.

Bradshaw said there are those who will fall through the cracks. "No system is fail proof," he said.

Potential hires must self-declare any investigations, charges or convictions they have on their record involving sexual, violent or drug-related behavior. They must also disclose if an employer has terminated them or if their teaching license has ever been subject to a hearing. Their former supervisors fill out a similar anonymous questionnaire on their behalf.

Their fingerprints are submitted to Las Vegas police and the central crime depository, where Nevada Highway Patrol and FBI records are searched for any state or federal convictions.

School officials said they do all they can to prevent sexual predators from working at the district.

"We need to be aware of when (children's) behavior changes or something that's weighing on their mind. If everyone did that maybe we would get these things stopped," said George Ann Rice, associate superintendant "We all need to do that whether or not we're a school employee."

A district teacher of 20 years, Adam Schultheis, whose daughter is in the second grade at Kesterson Elementary School, said sexual abuse happens in every profession and he fears teachers get a bad rap whenever one is arrested.

"You're always going to get a couple of bad apples and you just hope and pray they don't mess with your kids," he said.

Welzbacher said he still has faith in the school and district, but he's concerned by the trend.

"One case is bad enough, but we've had how many cases over the last year?" he asked.