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WILKES-BARRE — The Wilkes-Barre Area teacher recently suspended for a classroom incident worked at Coughlin High School, at the Mackin Building site. That means the student involved was in ninth or 10th grade, Solicitor Ray Wendolowski said. The teacher waived a hearing before the board and has been suspended without pay.
The former Mackin Elementary building was renovated and the two lower grades at Coughlin moved there so the older section of Coughlin could be prepared for razing. The two higher grades were moved to the newer Coughlin annex adjacent to the original school.
Wendolowski confirmed Monday that a teacher had been suspended but offered no details. On Tuesday, he confirmed where the teacher worked, and that the teacher had waved a “Loudermill” hearing, required when a teacher faces serious disciplinary action.
Wendolowski would not say anything else about the incident, but sources have told the Times Leader it apparently involved locking a student in a closet.
Wendolowski said he doubts the matter will come up at a special meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. in the GAR Memorial High School auditorium Thursday. An informational meeting will follow at 6 p.m. the same day to update the public on site selection for a new high school.
The board voted to consolidate grades 9-12 at Meyers and Coughlin high schools into a new building. After considering several sites, the board voted to build the new school where Coughlin stands. Coughlin students were then split between the Mackin building and the Coughlin annex, and asbestos removal was done in the original Coughlin structure.
But work stopped when the Wilkes-Barre zoning board denied a needed zoning variance to put the new school at the Coughlin site. The board voted to revisit site options, including three new sites in Plains Township. Thursday’s meeting is intended to update the status of that review, Wendolowski said.