(OH)
The Advertiser-Tribune [Fostoria, OH]
January 24, 2025
By Kayla Trevino
Lakota Schools athletic director Kevin Yeckley’s career in education was derailed years ago after he acknowledged an inappropriate relationship with a student and later failed to abide by licensing restrictions imposed by the state.
A recent petition calling for his resignation and the resignation of Lakota Schools Superintendent Chad Coffman circulated after a student was assaulted last year led to the resurfacing of concerns surrounding Yeckley and his past behavior.
Coffman and Yeckley deny wrongdoing and reject claims that they mishandled the incident.
But Kelly Stevens, the author of the petition whose grandson was assaulted, alleges that they “refused to follow the court order of no contact (between her grandson and the offenders) and refused to believe there were court proceedings going on,” according to the petition.
She said her experience since the assault was reported has revealed deeper issues regarding how the district handles disciplining students and other matters.
She presented the petition—with 719 signatures—to the school board on Nov. 22. The board decided not to take any action in response.
Path to Lakota
Yeckley received a bachelor’s in education from the University of Toledo in 1991. Fremont Schools hired him for the 1991-1992 school year as a sixth-grade teacher and junior high football coach, according to his personnel file from Fremont.
The board later hired Yeckley as the junior high school assistant football coach for the 1992 – 1993 school year, which he did along with continuing the job as a sixth-grade teacher. He continued to teach at Fremont Schools with different coaching jobs until 1996.
In 1996, Yeckley began to provide auxiliary services as a teacher and counselor at St. Joseph Central Catholic High School. He continued to provide auxiliary services to St. Joe’s while still under a contract with Fremont City Schools.
A public records request via email to St. Joseph Central Catholic Schools for Yeckley’s personnel file was forwarded to the Toledo Catholic Diocese. A representative from the diocese told the A-T that it was not required to provide the requested records and that it would not be providing the records.
Diocese investigates Yeckley
It was during his time providing auxiliary services that an “inappropriate relationship” between Yeckley and a student was disclosed to a St. Joe’s teacher by the alleged victim in March 2009, according to a report by Toledo Catholic Diocese case manager Frank DiLallo, which was within Yeckley’s personnel file from Fremont City Schools.
According to the report, the student disclosed to a teacher that Yeckley, who was serving as a counselor, had told the student he had “feelings for her.” The report stated the teacher who the student disclosed to “didn’t feel comfortable” keeping (the student’s) disclosure confidential. She additionally stated the student told her that “no kissing, no intercourse, nothing sexual” had occurred between the student and Yeckley.
The teacher disclosed the information to the assistant principal, who then gave it to the principal, Mike Gabel. The timeline from there is not clear from the report. An investigation by the diocese found within Yeckley’s Fremont City Schools personnel file, did not begin until October 2009, seven months after the student disclosed what Yeckley said to her.
After Toledo Catholic Diocese case manager Frank DiLallo spoke with Gabel in October 2009 he reported that Gabel stated he “feels confident Mr. Yeckley did nothing wrong in this matter” but was “encouraged by his assistant principal to contact (Jack) Altenburger, superintendent,” the report states.
Gabel told DiLallo that he “went to the home of the (student’s) parents and spoke with the student and her mother.” He alleged one of the parties he spoke with “did not think this matter was worth pursuing legally or otherwise” and alleged the student “confirmed nothing sexual, not even a kiss, only hugs transpired” between her and Yeckley.
“He (Gabel) indicated the parents shared their appreciation for Mr. Yeckley and that they did not want to bring this up again, because they didn’t want to hurt (the student) or the school,” DiLallo concluded from his conversation with Gabel, according to a report by the diocese.
DiLallo wrote in his report that he reached out to the Ohio Department of Education’s conduct board and was instructed to file a complaint about Yeckley using forms through the conduct board. He later met with Yeckley in the presence of Gabel and Greg Reed, Diocesan Human Resource director.
“There have never been any complaints regarding Mr. Yeckley’s conduct at the local level from school officials, parents or students or at the diocesan level,” DiLallo wrote in his report, stating that this information was confirmed by Gabel.
According to DiLallo’s interview with Yeckley, he had been counseling the student since 2006. Throughout the interview with Yeckley, he made it known that he knew the student was struggling with her mental health. He also said that he saw the student 2-3 times a week during the school day.
Yeckley also admits that he hired the student to work at his house refurbishing business on weekends and she worked about 20 hours a week, stating he was alone with her several times when she was working with him.
He stated his hiring of her was “a mistake” and that he “didn’t clearly step away from his counseling relationship with her.” Yeckley told the case manager that “nothing outside the lines” happened between them.
Yeckley stated he thought the student “saw him as a father figure.” He said he “periodically would give her an affirming hug” and that the same type of hug would “happen in the cafeteria,” describing the hugs as “healthy.”
He said he continued to work alone with the student for several Saturdays in November 2009 and that he began having “uncomfortable feelings being around her.”
“I was controlling myself well, the feelings I was having toward her, I was controlling them but they weren’t going away,” Yeckley said, according to the report. “If I didn’t stop hugging her at that moment, I didn’t know where it was going to lead. So, I moved back and told her I was having feelings for her.”
“She was taken aback and had a very confused look on her face,” he stated. “In that moment, I knew I let her down. There were better ways I would have liked to handle that situation. Part of me felt relieved, I knew it was going to stop, my feelings and my contact with her.”
Yeckley said he then spoke to her parents about what he said to the student in December 2009 and met with her mother, stating the mother saw him in a “good light” because of how he “treated their (daughter)” and there was “lots of understanding on her part.”
He stated he signed a contract about the type of contact he was allowed to have with the student and claimed the only contact he had with her after this were college-related appointments and discussions. He also said she no longer worked for his side business.
DiLallo’s report was forwarded to the Ohio Department of Education. In response, the Ohio Department of Education provided a consent agreement to Yeckley. A consent agreement is an educator’s legal agreement with the Ohio Department of Education. According to the department, it outlines the terms for the educator to keep their license.
The agreement, signed in March 2010, included stipulations that his five-year professional elementary teaching license would be limited to the Diocese of Toledo until it expired in 2012 and that his three-year pupil activity supervisor permit would be limited to the Diocese of Toledo until it expired in 2011, meaning he could only work at schools within the Diocese of Toledo.
According to the document, the agreement stated that Yeckley “engaged in conduct unbecoming a licensed educator by failing to maintain appropriate student-teacher boundaries,” according to the document. He was also required to complete three hours of training on “establishing and maintaining appropriate teacher-student boundaries.”
Yeckley was also required to complete a fitness-to-teach evaluation with a statement from a psychologist or psychiatrist stating that Yeckley is fit to teach and does not pose a risk or threat to minors or others in the school community.
The consent agreement states the following: The disciplinary action shall not be held against (Yeckley) on future applications if he is not convicted of an offense enumerated in ORC section 3319.31, which means he is found to be immoral, incompetent, negligent or guilty of other conduct unbecoming of his position.
Yeckley, who was still an employee of Fremont Schools and contracted out to St. Joe’s, did not disclose the consent agreement to Fremont schools and his contract with the district was renewed.
When Fremont Schools found out about the consent agreement, then Superintendent Dr. Traci McCaudy reported Yeckley to the Ohio Department of Education, stating he “may have engaged in conduct unbecoming to the teaching profession.”
A letter from the state board of education found the following to be true: Yeckley violated the March 2010 consent agreement by continuing to be employed by Fremont Schools. He also violated the agreement by failing to report the limitation of his “five-year professional elementary teaching license” and the limitation of his “three-year pupil activity supervisor permit” to Fremont schools.
The state board also stated Yeckley violated ORC section 3319.31 (which outlines conditions in which the Ohio Board of Education may revoke or deny a license) and in particular that he violated section B1, which means he “engaged in an immoral act, incompetence, negligence, or conduct that is unbecoming to the applicant’s or person’s position.”
The report to the state department resulted in Yeckley agreeing to a new consent agreement in September 2010. This new consent agreement suspended his five-year professional elementary teaching license until June 30, 2012, and his three-year pupil activity supervisor license until June 30, 2011.
Yeckley was never formally charged by the state department of education.
According to Yeckley’s personnel file, he resigned from Fremont schools in August 2010. He left education and began work in 2011 as a wellness manager in the physical medicine department of ProMedica Memorial Hospital, which ended in 2016. Yeckley returned to education in 2016 – 2017 as a Lakota substitute teacher and became a realtor with Century 21.
Yeckley was hired as Lakota’s athletic director in 2017 and became the elementary and middle school counselor in 2019, maintaining his position as athletic director.
In his application to Lakota, Yeckley indicated he worked at Fremont schools from 1991 – 1996 and at St. Joe’s from 1996 – 2010. That information is correct but incomplete: Yeckley also maintained employment with Fremont schools from 1991 – 2010 and provided auxiliary services to St. Joe’s rather than being an employee of St. Joe’s.
Yeckley and Board of Education respond
In response to multiple questions sent to Yeckley asking him to address the situation with the student, whether he sought help for having “feelings” for a student, his failure to report his first consent agreement to Fremont schools and whether he intentionally misled Lakota schools when he failed to accurately list the dates he worked for Fremont, Yeckley provided the following statement:
“All of these questions were addressed in 2010 when the Ohio Department of Education reviewed this situation. At that time, 15 years ago, I fully cooperated with their investigation and accepted their decision. Since then, I have consistently adhered to the rules and regulations set by the Ohio Department of Education in maintaining my license and upholding professional conduct, all while maintaining a strong employment record with Lakota Local Schools.”
None of the documents reviewed by the A-T address Yeckley’s choices and actions when he realized he had “feelings” for the student nor do any of them address if Yeckley sought professional help due to his “feelings.” The documents also do not address whether or not Yeckley intentionally misled Lakota schools when he applied for the athletic director position.
In response to multiple questions sent to Board of Education President Chris Chalfin asking him if the board was aware of Yeckley’s conduct at St. Joe’s and subsequent consent agreement, violations of the agreement, a second consent agreement and the misleading years of employment on Yeckley’s resume, Chalfin provided the following statement:
“The District initially hired Mr. Yeckley as a substitute teacher in 2016, based on a recommendation from former Lakota Superintendent Jon Detwiler. At that time, both Superintendent Detwiler and the Board were aware of Mr. Yeckley’s Consent Agreements with the Ohio Department of Education, as well as the disciplinary issues that led to those agreements.
“The board takes all aspects of a candidate’s employment history into account when making hiring decisions. Mr. Yeckley’s employment application was processed in the same manner as that of all other candidates. He was ultimately deemed the best candidate for the position and was hired. Since 2010, the District is not aware of any incidents involving Mr. Yeckley that could be considered conduct unbecoming an educator.”