MO lawmaker seeks records in exit of Central teachers in 'non-criminal' juvenile situation
A Missouri lawmaker who lives in Ozark and represents part of Christian County has asked Springfield Public Schools to turn over records in a quest to find out why two teachers are no longer working at Central High School. Their exit has been the subject of much speculation.
State Rep. Jamie Gragg, a Republican elected in 2022, filed a Sunshine Law request April 10 to obtain "all documents, whether email, in-house communique, reports, letters or memos from, (to), about, or mentioning" the teachers. He named the teachers in his request: Kerry Bodenhausen and Victoria Rogers.
Gragg, who has not responded to messages seeking comment, filed the request shortly after The Lion, an initiative of the Herzog Foundation — which, according to its website, exists to accelerate the development of Christ-centered K-12 education — posted allegations attributed to an anonymous SPS "insider" that two Central teachers took a transgender student home without parental permission.
The "whistleblower" described the incident as "kidnapping" and alleged the student wanted to transition to another gender but the family was not supportive, according to The Lion post.
The March 27 post was made less than a week before the hotly contested April 2 election. Seven candidates were vying for three school board seats.
The Lion post highlighted steps Christians Uniting for Political Action had recently taken to expose "LGBT ideology" at Central and endorse board candidates which it believed would put an end to the alleged "radical political and sexual indoctrination at SPS."
CUPA, one of the local groups that sought to influence the outcome of the board race, is led by Calvin Morrow. He rose to prominence locally and across Missouri nearly a decade ago as the spokesman for the successful campaign to remove sexual orientation and gender identity from Springfield's nondiscrimination ordinance, known as SOGI.
For a voter guide, CUPA and the Back on Track America PAC surveyed the candidates about issues related to gender identity and racial segregation as well as student achievement and discipline issues. The groups jointly backed three candidates — incumbent Maryam Mohammadkhani, who was elected, and Chad Rollins and Landon McCarter, who were not.
McCarter was the only candidate or sitting board member who was quoted in the post. His only comment was that the whistleblower leveled a "very serious allegation."
The Lion post also referred to House Bill 2885, filed by Gragg. It seeks to charge teachers and school counselors who support a transgender student's "social transition" — changing names, pronouns and appearance to reflect gender identity — with a felony. The bill, which appears to have stalled in the House, would also require that they register as sex offenders if convicted.
The district has provided an initial response to Gragg's request. In it, the district said it will need until April 22 to perform an initial search to "reasonably assess the extent and complexity of the broad search" and provide an estimate of how long it will take to retrieve and provide any records that may exist.
Stephen Hall, chief communication officer, said the district is limited in what specifics it can provide about personnel issues. He provided the details that are public under the Sunshine Law.
Hall noted neither Bodenhausen or Rogers have been assigned duties for the district since Feb. 1. Their names are part of the list of "separations" — which can mean retirement, resignation or termination — approved by the board during the Feb. 27 meeting.
Rogers, a communication arts teacher at Central, had been employed with the district since August 2006. Her final day is listed as May 23.
Bodenhausen, a special education teacher at Central, had been employed with the district since August 2014. Her final day was March 31.
Reached for comment, Bodenhausen said she is not going to make a statement at this time, citing the advice of an attorney. The News-Leader was unable to reach Rogers.
Police: Investigation into 'non-criminal juvenile situation' is closed
The News-Leader asked Springfield police spokeswoman Cris Swaters if a report had been filed in recent months involving Bodenhausen or Rogers and, if so, what was the status of the investigation.
"There is one report that is possibly related to the information provided in your request," Swaters said. "Unfortunately, it is a closed juvenile record."
The News-Leader asked for detail, including whether there was an investigation and if any report was forwarded to Greene County Prosecutor's Office.
Swaters provided the following, which was forwarded by the custodian of records: "This was a non-criminal juvenile situation and thus we do not have an active criminal investigation into the matter. However, the report and its details are considered closed and are not releasable."
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Lastly, the News-Leader reached out to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Typically, if there are allegations of inappropriate behavior or criminal charges involving a public school teacher, DESE closely monitors the case.
"At this time, DESE has not received any requests for disciplinary action against the teaching certificate of either educator named in your email," said Mallory McGowin, chief communications officer for DESE.
"Nor has DESE been made aware of any criminal charges that would cause our team to flag their profile and begin tracking their case."
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri lawmaker seeks records of 2 former Springfield teachers
