The Saratoga Springs School District has fired a 37-year-old tenured English teacher on the recommendation of a report prepared by the state Department of Education describing inappropriate conduct between the teacher and his 14-year-old female student.
Mark Oppenneer was 36 when he allegedly pursued the relationship during the spring semester of the 2006-2007 school year and through the following summer. The relationship was not physical in nature, but Oppenneer sent over 100 communications by e-mail, instant messenger and MySpace. The two also met at the Uncommon Grounds coffee shop and Fierro’s Pizza restaurant during the summer. Oppenneer also invited her to visit him at the Ndakinna Center, where he worked as educational director, on several occasions.
The third-year ninth- and tenth-grade teacher had met the ninth-grader in class, and she `was a highly intellectual student with a strong interest in writing and poetry,` according to the report.
Also according to the report, Oppenneer began having lunch with the student in his classroom, and they created music CDs for each other. As the summer approached, he asked for her e-mail address so they could continue communicating.
The report was compiled by Education Department Hearing Officer Dennis Campagna, who is part of the department’s tenured teacher hearing unit. It primarily concerns the summertime communications between the student and teacher. The report notes that of 144 messages sent by Oppenneer, 95 occurred between 11 p.m. and 4:30 a.m.
Though their relationship was not physical, words exchanged between the two indicate a friendship beyond the professional. When the student asked Oppenneer his opinion of her, the report says he used phrases such as `you make me feel,` `in my heart,` `kinetic bond` and `special person.`
Oppenneer’s messages indicate he knew the dangers of his relationship with the student and the personal nature of their correspondence.
`If you were a mom and you knew your daughter was up at 1:36 doing this, you would probably feel pretty upset,` wrote Oppenneer in one late-night message.
He did not stop writing the student, however, even after his wife (a teacher in the South Colonie School District) discovered the communiquEs and became `very upset.`
`As much as I feel I shouldn’t have to defend myself for communicating with you, I can certainly see her point of view,` wrote Oppenneer. `I also imagine it would freak your parents out, too. And perhaps the school officials not to mention the police.`
The police did become involved after the girl’s mother discovered their correspondence near the end of the summer and turned the electronic messages over to New York State Police. No charges were filed against Oppenneer after an investigation, but it caused the school district to look into the matter and call in the Education Department.
Oppenneer was placed on administrative leave on Sept. 5.
The district officially terminated Oppenneer at a Tuesday, Aug. 12, meeting of the board of education under the provisions of section 3020-a of educational law on the basis that, as stated by the report, `[Oppenneer] engaged in a course of serious misconduct in his dealings with a 14-year-old impressionable female student.`
`We’re grateful that the due process procedures resulted in a determination,` said Superintendent Janice White. `We always seek to ensure a safe and secure environment for all of our students.“