Parent critical of how school handled incident involving son

FORT RECOVERY — Some parents are questioning the treatment of a student.

Fort Recovery Local Schools board members said they are looking into the matter. 

At least 15 local residents attended the Fort Recovery School Board meeting Monday in support of Chris Siefring, who came to air concerns about the treatment of his son at Fort Recovery Middle School after an alleged bomb threat and gun threat.

Siefring told the board his 12-year-old son, a seventh grader at Fort Recovery Middle School, was being held at West Central Juvenile Detention Center in Troy, Ohio, until noon Monday. He’s now wearing an ankle monitor during the rest of his school suspension, which originally started Sept. 11.

Siefring explained his son has disruptive mood dysregulation disorder.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) is a condition in which children or adolescents experience ongoing irritability, anger, and frequent, intense temper outbursts. The symptoms of DMDD go beyond a ‘bad mood.’”

Siefring said his son had been complaining about chest pains and that he was outfitted with a heart monitor for a short time.

On Sept. 8, Siefring said, the school called his wife, Theresa Siefring, and said their son had been making inappropriate comments about his heart monitor to other students. Chris Siefring alleged a rumor started first period that his son’s heart monitor was a bomb.

He said his son was taken to the school office around noon to speak with principal Holly Gann and staff member Miranda Gerlach, with Theresa Siefring on the phone. After their conversation, the boy was left alone in a locked conference room. Siefring’s son threw objects, knocked over chairs and phones and escaped through a window. He was found outside near the building.

The boy was placed on suspension at home for five days. During his second day of suspension on Sept. 12, his teacher, who was working with the boy remotely, informed Theresa Siefring it appeared her son may have had a gun. (Chris Siefring noted the family owns a gun cabinet but said it had not been touched.) Theresa Siefring later received a call from Darke County Sheriff’s Office letting her know they were on the way to her home to do a welfare visit on her son.

During police questioning, his son continued to deny he had accessed any guns, Chris Siefring said.

His son was placed for a week in the juvenile detention center. Chris Siefring said he isn’t aware of any formal charges being filed in court.

His son’s condition — he was diagnosed in October 2021 — had been filed with the school, said Chris Siefring. He also said the family had informed the school their son would be wearing a heart monitor.

In a statement Siefring shared, he said his son is bullied almost daily at school, getting called nicknames now including ‘Bomb Boy.’

“The administration let it get out of hand,” said Siefring. “The administration knew about it early and chose not to act.”

 Siefring criticized the school for leaving his son in a room alone while having signs of anxiety. He also questioned the choice to send him to a juvenile detention center.

“I’ll never have my son back the way he was,” said Siefring. “He’s been permanently altered.”

During the school board meeting, school board president Don Wendel stopped Siefring’s speech and requested the group continue their discussion in executive session. Siefring said he would like to continue addressing the issue publicly. School board members pointed out student discipline isn’t usually addressed in open meetings, and they agreed to move into executive session immediately.

After about 45 minutes, the school board returned to its open meeting.

Wendel said the board will look into Siefring’s concerns. Fort Recovery superintendent Tony Stahl declined to speak on the matter.

“We certainly appreciate community feedback, but I’m not going to comment on student disciplinary matters,” said Stahl.

In other business, school board:

•Hired Jeff Vaughn as the high school girls golf coach retroactive to Aug. 24. Vaughn took over the role from Joe Bruns, 53, who died from cancer. 

•Approved hiring substitutes Beth Westgerdes and Rebecca Link and van drivers Ashley Eihenauer, Karli Jutte, Kathy Keller, Alyssa Lewis and Rose Moeder

•Approved contracts with Lindsey Reinhard as the SADD Club adviser and Jamie Albers and Cathy Wendel as school district RTI Core Team members

•OK’d Fort Recovery FFA to take a field trip to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 and Fort Recovery High School Marching Band to attend the Buckeye Invitational at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, from Oct. 13 to Oct. 14

•Accepted donations from various groups for student appreciation night, as well as donations to the choir and elementary/middle school library