Talawanda admin terminated for criminal record, records show

The contract for a Talawanda School District administrator was terminated last month following the discovery of a criminal record in the Montgomery Court of Common Pleas.

According to court records, former director of student services Joseph Hall, 45, entered a guilty plea to “trespassing in a habitation when a person is present or likely to be present” – a fourth degree felony – in the Montgomery Court of Common Pleas in April for an incident that occurred in June 2024.

Judge Elizabeth A. Ellis ordered Hall to undergo a period of rehabilitation for no less than one or more than five years, according to the documents.

According to documents provided through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made by the Oxford Free Press to the Talawanda School District, a clause was included in Hall’s administrator contract that said his contract may be terminated if the district were to find criminal records relating to him.

Hall’s contract stated, “This contract shall be void upon receipt by Board of a valid criminal records report which is unacceptable under R.C. 3319.311.”

Ohio Revised Code details the circumstances under which an investigation on a public school faculty member can be performed by a school district superintendent or Ohio’s State Board of Education (SBOE). For example, an investigation may be performed if there is a finding of a guilty plea to a felony charge.

Documents provided through the FOIA request show the Talawanda School District Board of Education (BOE) failed to ask Hall if he had a criminal record within his written applications, although the board asserted Hall did not disclose his guilty plea during the job application process.

The Talawanda BOE claimed in a resolution signed by all five members Hall “(engaged) in conduct unbecoming of an educator, …  by being untruthful/failing (to) disclose information on his employment application and when questioned regarding the circumstances surrounding his criminal background check.”

The Talawanda BOE also claimed Hall originally lied when asked about the record, according to the documents.

According to a notice of the intention to consider terminating Hall’s contract signed by Treasurer Shaunna Talfeski to Hall, Hall was “not truthful” when questioned about the circumstances regarding his criminal charge, and he “intentionally withheld information” during the hiring process and did not include it in the application.

During the period of the incident for which Hall was convicted, he was employed as director of educational services with the Montgomery County Juvenile Court. On Hall’s application, Hall said his reason for leaving the position in June 2024 was “continued career growth.”

In the “disclosures” section of his application, Hall replied “no” to the question “Have you ever failed to be rehired, been asked to resign a position, resigned to avoid termination, or terminated from employment?”

Hall was not asked within this section to disclose his criminal background, although it said on the application, “All applicants are subjected to criminal background checks. You are hereby notified that you may be disqualified from employment if you have pleaded guilty to or have been convicted of certain criminal offenses as provided by law.”

Erika Mattingly, public information officer for the Montgomery County Juvenile Court, told the Oxford Free Press in an email Hall submitted a resignation letter in May 2024 with a suggested effective date of July 2024. 

Mattingly said the court chose to accept his resignation letter effective June 7, 2024, four days after the incident was reported by the Brookville Police Department, according to the records. Mattingly could not provide reasoning for the court’s chosen time to accept the resignation.

Hall’s contract with the Talawanda School District became effective Aug. 1 prior to the investigation of his criminal record.

Hall was notified of the start of his unpaid administrative leave on Aug. 12, according to documents provided through the FOIA request, and his contract was officially terminated by the Talawanda BOE on Sept. 11. 

During a board meeting last month when it was announced Hall’s contract would be terminated, board member Pat Meade said that he hopes the board will be “more vigilant” in their hiring process in the future.

Board president Rebecca Howard said the board has added a form to the application process for the school district that requires a signature, which “basically says, ‘There’s not going to be a problem with my background check.’”

“We are continuing to look at what we can do better,” Howard said during the meeting.