LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The principal of an eastern Kentucky school district said an investigation was underway after photos surfaced Tuesday showing students giving staff dances and wearing light clothing.
During Hazard High School’s reunion week festivities, students and staff participated in a “Man Pageant” and “Costume Day” on Tuesday, according to the school’s Facebook page.
Photos that have since been removed from the athletics department’s Facebook page appeared to show students giving laps to teachers and staff, including high school principal Donald “Happy” Mobelini, who is also the town’s mayor. of Perry County.
“Um. What exactly is going on here, all of you? Come on, Hazard,” Nema Brewer, co-founder of education advocacy group KY 120 United, wrote on Tuesday night in a tweet which showed the photos. “Do together.”
Other photos on the athletics page that were later removed showed female students dressed in “Hooters” outfits, as well as students and staff appearing to paddle each other.
Sondra Combs, superintendent of Hazard Independent Schools, told the Courier Journal that the district “has a tradition of excellence and academics and everything we do, but the incident is investigated and once investigation completed, appropriate action will be taken “.
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Combs declined to share further details of the investigation and whether the “Man Pageant” was an annual event.
Kentucky Department of Education spokeswoman Toni Konz Tatman said the department was “aware of what had happened at the independent Hazard schools” and had “been in contact with the superintendent, who informed us that the incident was under investigation. “
Kentucky law provides that school district superintendents are required to report instances of educator misconduct to the Professional Education Standards Board (EPSB). certified educator likely violated the Kentucky Educators’ Code of Ethics, the superintendent is required to report this to the EPSB for potential action, ”Konz Tatman wrote in an email.“ If a Commonwealth citizen believes that the Kentucky educator’s code of ethics has been violated by a certified educator, he can also file a complaint with the EPSB. “
A thread on the events of Hazard High School on Reddit is titled “It’s the mayor of my town who is run over by a high school student disguised as a woman”, and it has over 450 comments and over 7,600 upvotes on the website.
Mobelini, the principal and mayor, did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday.
Hazard Independent Schools board member Aster Sizemore said he was in high school on Tuesday but not at the event in question.
“Normally the manager, Happy Mobelini, is pretty strict, so that surprises me unless someone pulls something out of a hat,” Sizemore told the Courier Journal. “A kid comes to school in a short dress, you know, he makes them go home and change.”
Board chairman Ralph Butch Asher said he was aware of the issue and had yet to hear any parents complain. He couldn’t tell if the event was annual, sending matters back to the district.
