KENOSHA — Parents are enraged after hearing a Kenosha Unified School District middle school teacher had an alleged grooming relationship with a young student.
That teacher, who we are not naming because he hasn't been charged, is on leave.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is now investigating the teaching license of the teacher involved. The department confirmed to TMJ4’s Megan Lee the investigation started Friday morning.
Parents are outraged over the alleged actions of the teacher and how they said the district has handled the situation.
"You have made a lot of moms mad,” Kristy Murphy said.
Murphy is no longer letting her eighth-grade daughter go to school. Her daughter is enrolled at Kenosha School of Technology Enhanced Curriculum (KTEC). That is the same school the involved teacher works at.
"It's scary to be a parent, especially to a daughter in this type of world, and to be a woman at the same time. And then to put them in the care of someone that you trust that doesn't give a about anything about them,” Murphy explained.
Murphy along with other parents are demanding transparency in this investigation.
"It's ridiculous and it’s disgusting that the safety of our children isn't being treated the way it should be ya know protected,” concerned parent, Karina Luna explained.
Karina Luna took matters into her own hands and contacted the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. She wanted to make sure the right people were contacted.
"It doesn't matter if your kids are in this school or they're not. We need to put our foot down and we need to show them that we are not going to back off at this point,” Luna said.
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the district sent us a statement saying they're aware of the allegations and take the allegations very seriously. The statement said in part that the teacher has not been back in the classroom pending the district's investigation and that this is a personnel issue.
Parents said this response isn’t good enough. They have planned a protest for Monday, April 29th at 4 p.m.
"We have to keep pressure, we have to keep focus, and we have to demand changes be made,” protest organizer, Josie Benson said.
A spokesperson for the KUSD district said there is no other statement during the investigation.
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