Foothill teachers investigated

Three teachers at Foothill High School are being investigated for sexual misconduct with students, sources close to the investigation said Thursday.

"There's been sexual misconduct. The allegations involve students," said a source who asked not to be named. "The investigations started sometime this month."

Three officials with knowledge of the situation, but who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed that the Clark County School District investigations involve three teachers and three students at the Henderson school. The sources said that the incidents involving the three teachers were not related and that some of the acts are alleged to have taken place weeks ago.

A coach at Foothill is among those being investigated, two of the three sources said.

All three of the teachers have been suspended, one source said.

Under Nevada law, the district can suspend teachers with or without pay depending on the circumstances.

The sources did not know whether the allegations had been passed on to Henderson police.

Jaime Lea, a spokeswoman with the district, confirmed late Thursday that at least one Foothill teacher was being investigated by the district.

Anytime there is an investigation involving a teacher, the teacher is removed from the classroom immediately, Lea said.

School Board member Mary Beth Scow, who represents the region that includes Foothill, said she's very concerned about the allegations. It's unusual that so many teachers from one school are being investigated for such serious allegations, she said.

"It's a highly unusual situation and something that has to be addressed immediately," Scow said. "The region superintendents are working on the situation."

Southeast Region Superintendent Andre Denson could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Terri Miller, president of the nonprofit Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct and Exploitation, said that if the allegations against the Foothill teachers prove true, the school's administration will have to bear part of the responsibility.

"The school is not doing enough to train their teachers about proper boundaries with students," Miller said. "The school is not doing enough to educate students about personal safety in regards to teachers who prey on them. And the hiring practices of the Clark County School District are seriously lacking."

The allegations at Foothill are the latest in a string involving district teachers engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct with students.

A year ago, Heidi Tolman, a political science teacher and volleyball coach at Cheyenne High School, was suspended pending an investigation that she had a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old male student.

In August, former Garside Middle School teacher Marc Horton was sent to prison for one to five years for sending nude pictures of himself to female students.

The problem was especially pronounced between 2000 to 2002, when 14 Clark County School District employees, most of them teachers, were arrested on charges of sexual misconduct involving teens or children.