KENOSHA, Wis. — A former substitute teacher in the Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD) is facing allegations of sending inappropriate messages to a student.
It's the latest in a string of incidents involving teachers in Kenosha County.
Alex Poyner, 32, a former substitute teacher at Bradford High School, is facing 17 charges of sexual misconduct for allegedly sending inappropriate messages to a 15-year-old student.
The allegations against Poyner come as the parents of an alleged victim of a different, now former, Kenosha teacher speak out.
"Tell me why you guys have decided to speak out now," reporter Jenna Rae asked.
"It's just disappointing to hear it's happening again. It seems like an ongoing issue. You think that the district and school board would be a little more on top of it, and it wouldn't happen," the dad said.
The mom and dad we spoke with are remaining anonymous. Their daughter is the alleged victim of fired KTEC teacher Christian Enwright.
"It's hard, you know. You always assume they're going to school and everything's fine, and then you find this out, and it just shocks you and scares you," the dad said.
Watch: EXCLUSIVE: Parents of Christian Enwright's alleged victim speak out
Enwright was arrested after police said he had an inappropriate online relationship with his student. He's charged with several counts of disorderly conduct.
"It just makes you feel like, 'What did I miss?' and 'What should we have been talking to her about?' and 'What could we have done?'" the dad said.
However, these parents are not alone.
Since 2019, four KUSD employees have been arrested and criminally charged with having inappropriate relationships or online contact with students.
"It just makes you feel like, are they not doing background checks? Are they not following through on investigating things? Are there not guidelines in place?" the dad asked.
According to KUSD’s website, its hiring processes haven’t changed since 2005. They include criminal background checks, multiple references, and an interview process.
"If somebody has not been convicted of something in the past, it's not going to come up on a background check. So there might be people who make it through those levels or pieces, and then they make some very bad choices," KUSD Director of Communications Tanya Ruder said.
Ruder said that despite the policy being 20 years old, it is still being followed.
"It does provide direction and the ability for us to hold people accountable if they're not actually implementing those steps, and so we have done regular reviews with our staff," Ruder added.
"Do you think it's acceptable that the policy hasn't been revised in 20 years?" Rae asked the parents.
"No way. Like, how much has social media changed and just changed the landscape of everything, to where you don’t have a new policy since 2005? That’s crazy," the dad responded.
While the district claims training for staff is ongoing, the family said something needs to change.
"You just assume all that stuff's happening and all those things are in place, and then stuff like this happens, and you're like, well, maybe it's a free-for-all, and they're doing whatever they want. It's scary, and it makes you nervous to send your kids to school," the dad said.
Enwright’s trial begins in April. TMJ4 will be there.
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