A suburban Cincinnati high school principal is being investigated for insubordination after he let a former student who was experiencing homelessness attend school after the student was unenrolled, records show.
Robert Burnside is principal at Lakota East High School in Liberty Township, about 25 miles north of Cincinnati. During a pre-disciplinary meeting, district administrators asked Burnside about his relationship with a student experiencing homelessness, who was withdrawn from the district this school year. The questions, obtained by The Enquirer through an Ohio Public Records Act request, raise concerns about how the student was able to receive lunches at the school and what might happen if the student was ever hurt on school grounds.
“Did you consider the liability of this since he was unenrolled?” one of the questions reads.
Burnside declined to comment on the matter at this time.
Burnside was placed on paid administrative leave Nov. 1, “pending the conclusion of an investigation.” The following week, Superintendent Ashley Whitely alerted district families about Burnside’s absence and said the district has “been investigating a concern that was brought to our attention.” The district “had anticipated having a resolution sooner,” Whitely wrote.