The Upper Arlington City School District has entered a "last chance agreement" with a district employee after an investigation found she engaged in unprofessional conduct and failed to appropriately respond to student safety and well-being concerns, according to documents obtained by Sean M. Brooks, Ph.D., of the Substack The American Classroom.
The employee, Montana Frey, who serves as the district's sole attendance secretary, was placed on paid administrative leave while the district investigated. An Aug. 4 notice of pre-disciplinary conference, signed by Chief Talent Officer Pete Scully, laid out five allegations against Frey: an unprofessional and inappropriate relationship with a district student; inappropriate use of confidential student information; failure to respond to and report on student health, welfare and safety concerns; interference with parental rights and decision-making; and insubordination and misrepresentation during the investigation.
The district said the alleged conduct, if true, violated board policies on staff ethics, student safety and welfare, student health and well-being, and the district's parents' bill of rights, and would have warranted termination.
Rather than fire Frey, the district and her union, OAPSE Local 4/AFSCME, negotiated a last-chance agreement, signed Aug. 10 by Frey, union president David Thompson, and Superintendent Dr. Robert Hunt. According to the agreement, Frey does not admit to or agree with the investigation's conclusions.
Under the deal, Frey returned to work Aug. 11 and must complete district-provided training on workplace conduct, ethics, and professional boundaries. She is barred from social media or text contact with students and from any intentional contact, in her official capacity, with the family involved in the investigation. The district must instead establish an alternative way for that family to handle school attendance matters.
The agreement stays in Frey's personnel file for two years. Any further violation gives the superintendent sole discretion to terminate her, with limited rights to challenge that decision through arbitration.