ROWAN COUNTY, Ky. — A Rowan County principal was removed from his position after two days of student protests, according to an email sent to "Rowan County Stakeholders" and shared by one of those recipients with Spectrum News 1.
Superintendent Michael Rowe wrote Jordan Mann has been reassigned to other duties in the district for the remainder of the school year. The decision came after calls for his removal, an online petition with more than 2,000 signatures and a civil lawsuit filed by a person known as Jane Doe.
The suit names Mann, the Rowan County Board of Education, former superintendent John Maxey and former high school teacher and coach Andrew Zaheri as defendants.
According to the suit, Zaheri groomed and then sexually assaulted Jane Doe when she was a student. Mann and Maxey are accused of failing to act when presented with information and evidence.
“The fact that a teacher got sexually involved with a student this way and assaulted her was a huge problem on their end and a failure on their end as well,” said Jade Kelsey, who was a student at Rowan County Senior High School in 2019.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Zaheri was sentenced to 22 years in prison last summer for the production of child pornography, admitting to the sexual relationship as part of his plea deal.
Kelsey said she thinks more care, protection and attention to student concerns need to be addressed. She's working with current students, hoping to get them resources and advocate for answers.
"But when the threat is someone lurking on staff, where are the same kinds of proactive measures for that?"“There are so many other protocols that they follow all the time, whether it's for severe weather or onsite threats," Kelsey said. "But when the threat is someone lurking on staff, where are the same kinds of proactive measures for that?"
In a statement shared Monday on Facebook in response to the event, Rowan County Schools said, “The walkout was conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner. School staff were present throughout to ensure all students remained safe and supervised during the event."
"As a nation and a school community, we take pride in upholding the values of free expression and civil discourse. We are committed to supporting our students as they learn to engage with the world around them in thoughtful and constructive ways.”
Kelsey said the issue has brought bigger concerns to the surface.
“These instances, too, that speak into this picture, even more so, is the fact that they also failed to protect students from each other," Kelsey said. "A lot of students feel as if they can't even count on them to protect a student from a teacher. How are they going to be able to depend on them to protect them from another student?"
Spectrum News 1 reached out to the Rowan County Superintendent’s Office for comment, which has not yet responded.
