John Freshwater (born June 22, 1956) is a former science teacher at Mount Vernon Middle School in Mount Vernon, Ohio, who was dismissed by the Board of Education for teaching creationism in a public school.
Freshwater was suspended without pay and requested a public administrative hearing, which began in October 2008 and concluded in January 2011 with the hearing referee recommending the school board terminate Freshwater's teaching contract. One week later, the Board terminated Freshwater's contracts. Additionally, Freshwater was involved with two federal court cases regarding the accusations, one brought against him by the student because Freshwater burned a cross into his arm, which was settled out of court, and in the other Freshwater sued his employers, which he later withdrew. Freshwater appealed his termination, but the appeals were denied by two different appeal courts and the Supreme Court of Ohio.
Personal life
Freshwater taught at Mount Vernon Middle School from 1987 until he was suspended in 2008 and officially terminated in January 2011 following two years of hearings. He is currently (2017) teaching at Akron Preparatory Academy. He has a Bachelor's degree in Education from Ohio University and an Associate's degree in Recreation and Wildlife from Hocking College. He is married and has three children.
In 2011, Freshwater told The Columbus Dispatch he sold his home on several acres to a former student to pay his legal costs and lives with his wife and daughter in a Mount Vernon rental home.
Investigation, lawsuits, and hearing
Investigation and school board termination hearing
In April 2008, Freshwater publicly claimed he was told by school administration to remove a Bible off his desk, but refused. This prompted some students to hold a rally in support of Freshwater a few days later. Subsequently, the school released a statement the following week, in part, "The allegations against Mr. Freshwater are very serious. This is not about his personal Bible on his desktop. It is about the totality of his conduct." At that time, he was under investigation for preaching his religion to his students, teaching creationism, encouraging prayer and burning students with a Christian cross with an electric lab instrument. Freshwater's lawyer described the complaints as "fabrications."
In June 2008, the local school board voted unanimously to initiate termination proceedings against Freshwater after an independent investigative report concluded Freshwater preached creationism, claimed evolution is discredited and did not teach the required science curriculum. It was publicly revealed that as early as 2006, he was told to stop teaching creationism and intelligent design, but he continued to do so. In addition, the investigative report included photos of a child's arm with burn markings in the shape of a cross. The report also included the claim that several teachers complained for eleven years that Freshwater was teaching evolution incorrectly. Freshwater was also accused of shocking a special-needs student in the back after telling him to pick up a test tube, though Freshwater said he might have touched the student inadvertently as the boy walked past him. Further, it was alleged that he had used material from Answers in Genesis, Jonathan Wells' Icons of Evolution, and Kent Hovind to cast doubt on evolution and had assigned students to see the pro-intelligent design movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed for extra credit. According to CNN, "The report also cites evidence that Mr. Freshwater told his students that 'science is wrong because the Bible states that homosexuality is a sin and so anyone who is gay chooses to be gay and is therefore a sinner'."
2008 appeal
In July 2008, Freshwater appealed the decision by requesting a public administrative hearing, as allowed under Ohio Revised Code 3319.16, and the school board began holding hearings in October that included testimony from students, parents, teachers, and administrators regarding the board's grounds for termination. The termination hearing, refereed by attorney R. Lee Shepherd, was sporadic with testimony being heard on nearly 40 days over the span of almost two years. At the end of the hearing, the referee would decide if the board had sufficient grounds to terminate Freshwater's contract and present the school board with a non-binding recommendation. During the entirety of the hearing procedures, Freshwater was suspended without pay.