Security concerns lead THS to tighten access after hours

Gates will now be set up in Talawanda High School (THS) after school hours to prevent people from wandering the halls without permission after three adults were caught on security camera footage walking around and taking photos before a school board meeting on Oct. 9.

One of the individuals, Tom Heisler, is running for a seat on the Talawanda Board of Education for the Nov. 4 general election.

In the footage obtained by the Oxford Free Press, Heisler can be seen walking down several different hallways, surpassing the main entrance and auditorium where the board meeting was hosted, and stopping to take photos of items on the school walls. 

On a private Facebook page with 2,100 members, a post by an account that was not Heisler’s surfaced on the morning of Oct. 10. It included 14 photos of teacher name plates outside their classrooms with room numbers, diversity club fliers, a diversity club bulletin board and a poster featuring the word “diversity.”

The name plates photographed included rainbow stickers, with some having the text “safe space for all.”

The Oxford Free Press obtained a letter sent to Heisler dated Oct. 13 from Superintendent Edward Theroux through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. 

Theroux said in the letter, Heisler was observed in security footage walking through the downstairs academic wing of THS “without authorization.” Theroux accused Heisler of taking photographs of classroom doors displaying staff names, room numbers and bulletin boards.

According to the letter, the images posted on Facebook matched those Heisler was seen taking on video footage, which “have caused significant concern among our staff and community members.”

“Numerous staff have reported concerns of safety and disrespect by the posting of these images,” Theroux said in the letter. “In addition, maintenance staff and other staff who may be working during non school hours may perceive individuals wandering the building as a safety concern.”

Theroux went on in the letter to say the content of the pictures wasn’t the “main issue,” but walking around the building without permission, taking photos and sharing them was. Theroux said in the letter, community members have also reported safety concerns due to the pictures that were posted.

According to the letter, the Talawanda School District has reported the incident to the Oxford Police Department, which provides security during Talawanda Board of Education meetings.

In the letter, Theroux told Heisler to remain in “authorized areas,” including the auditorium of THS where board meetings are hosted, the adjacent restroom and the hallway leading in and out of the building.

According to the letter, photos and videos within any school facility without administrative approval are not permitted. Theroux said in the letter, future violations may result in involvement by law enforcement or other measures.

Corey Frye, who is also running for a seat on the Talawanda Board of Education in the Nov. 4 general election, and Scotty King, husband of board member Dawn King, could also be seen on the footage taking photos and were identified by Talawanda Schools Director of Communications Holli Hansel. They were not sent letters.

Hansel said this is because the two did not leave the area of the hallway adjacent to the auditorium, “however, there are still concerns about the photograph.”

When asked for a specific school policy in reference to the incident, Hansel told the Oxford Free Press in an email that policy 7440 covers topics of student and staff safety in school facilities. 

She said of the incident, THS hosts after-school activities during the same time as public meetings, which sometimes makes it difficult to close gates and security doors.

The policy does not explicitly outline areas where the public cannot be during board meetings.

“In this case,” she said, “trust has been broken, and there are certainly expectations that members of the community would and should only access the public meeting area and adjacent restrooms during a school board meeting.”

According to Theroux’s letter, from now on, the school district will post signs reminding community members to stay in permitted areas. Hansel said the school district will institute measures to prohibit access to areas of the school not open to the public.

Hansel said on behalf of the school district, “This should never happen.”

“If you’re coming to Talawanda High School to come to a meeting, then the expectation and the rule is that you access the meeting that is available to you … and to not be wandering around the school building,” Hansel said, adding school gates will now be used more regularly during meetings to block off areas not accessible to the public.

Hansel said the school district does not want the layout of the building to be shared on the internet, which includes the room numbers of the teachers whose name plates were posted online, because of the risk of intruders knowing where individuals are in the building.

“When these individuals took these pictures and put them on the internet, they are breaching those safety plans that we have in place that should never, never happen,” Hansel said, adding the school district does not provide maps of school facilities on the Talawanda School District website because it poses a safety risk.

Frye told the Oxford Free Press in a written message when asked about the incident, “I did not share any pictures with anyone, and I am not involved in the situation you are making reference to.”

Scotty King provided the following statement:

“The targeting needs to stop. The harassment needs to stop. The bullying needs to stop, and they need to get back to teaching kids and running a district. Because if you recall, our markings went down. We’re not a 4.5, we’re a 4 (stars). So maybe they should focus more time on teaching and educating than worrying about what the public does.”

When the Oxford Free Press reached out to Heisler via email for a response, he wrote:

“My platform is built upon transparency: fiscal and otherwise. The rainbow stickers with the web address of http://www.Glsen.org being displayed on some classrooms are from an organization that, for the most part promote links to political ideology and lesson plan suggestions that are not found within curriculum guidelines.

“I was therefore following up on concerns about politicization in the schools and took pictures when the school was open to the public. The pictures did not include the names or likenesses of any students. I did not access any restricted areas nor violate any laws.

“I share parental concern about promoting some areas of the school as safe and implying other areas are not as safe. The 2024/25 bullying report published by the board indicates there is not a bullying issue within any of the TSD buildings. 

“I am aware that Oxford Free Press has been funded in part by the Talawanda School Board, raising concern that OFP obtained an alleged document before being received by myself. This brings concern that a connection between the two parties implies intent for political slander. 

“This is my full and complete statement to your request. Any partial dissemination or manipulation of this statement will be considered political in nature and dealt with accordingly.”

While some of the stickers on the name plates do have links to the GLSEN website, other stickers are just rainbows.

The letter was sent to Heisler Oct. 13, and was not obtained by the Oxford Free Press via a FOIA request until the afternoon of Oct. 14. When the Oxford Free Press asked Hansel if the letter had already been sent to Heisler, Hansel responded “yes” in a written message.

The Talawanda School District is not a sponsor for the Oxford Free Press, and the Oxford Free Press has not received donations from the Talawanda School District or any of the four candidates currently running for the board of education. 

The Oxford Free Press received a $600 payment from the Talawanda School District in 2024 for a series of six advertisements for a “Medication Take Back” event by the Coalition for a Healthy Community-Oxford Area.

James Rubenstein, president of the Oxford Free Press Board of Directors said, “The Oxford Free Press is a certified nonprofit newspaper.”

“It is funded by tax-deductible donations from more than 600 households in the Oxford area,” Rubenstein said. “The newspaper is explicitly nonpartisan by decision of the board of directors.”