http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/06/20/teacher.cross/?iref=mpstoryview
(CNN) -- School administrators in Ohio voted
Friday to begin the process of firing a middle school teacher
accused of burning a cross into a student's arm and refusing to
keep his religious beliefs out of the classroom.
The Mount Vernon School Board passed a resolution to terminate
the employment of John Freshwater, an eighth-grade science teacher
for the past 21 years.
Freshwater, according to an independent report, used an
electrostatic device to mark a cross on the arm of one of his
students, causing pain to the student the night of the incident and
leaving a mark that lasted for approximately 3 weeks.
According to the Ohio Department of Education, the student's
family has filed a lawsuit.
Freshwater was also reprimanded several times for refusing to
move his Bible from his classroom desk and teaching creationism
alongside evolution, according to the 15-page independent report.
The report also cites evidence that Mr. Freshwater told his
students that "science is wrong because the Bible states that
homosexuality is a sin and so anyone who is gay chooses to be gay
and is therefore a sinner."
The Board of Education of the Mount Vernon City School District
met in special session Friday to address the case.