STEWART, Ohio — The Federal Hocking Local Schools Board of Education met in executive session with Superintendent Jason Spencer Monday night following a Facebook comment about teacher pay that he made last week using the district’s official account.
On Thursday, Feb. 27, the Federal Hocking Local Schools Facebook account responded to a post calling for a nationwide minimum teacher salary of $70,000.
“U don’t even know how much teachers are paid to work 182 days a year,” Spencer’s comment read. “Way more than u think. I’m a teacher.”
The only people who can use the account to make comments on other posts are Spencer and Federal Hocking High School Principal Jake Amlin, said District Treasurer Bruce Steenrod.
A screenshot of the comment shared on Facebook the following morning, Friday, Feb. 28, encouraged community members to contact the district’s board of education. By early Friday afternoon, the district had called a special meeting for Monday afternoon “to discuss the employment of a public employee.”
Several dozen teachers and parents — but not Spencer — were present when the special meeting began at 4:30 p.m. The board immediately went into executive session, returning to open meeting (still without Spencer) after more than two hours.
By that time, about half of the crowd had left. Board president Kerry Sheridan-Boyd made a statement to those remaining: “The board has spoken to Dr. Spencer to seek clarification,” she said. “You should expect communication from Dr. Spencer within the next day. We are in the process of reviewing this further. There is nothing else that’s happening tonight.”
The meeting adjourned at 6:51 p.m. and members of the board quickly exited the library.
Base pay for Federal Hocking teachers under the current contract is $40,767, with pay increasing based on years of experience and education beyond a bachelor’s degree. The maximum teacher salary is $83,572. That contract — a one-year extension of an agreement that expired last July — will be up for renewal as of July 31.
The living wage for an Athens County wage earner in a two-income household with two children is $55,702.
Spencer’s base salary is $130,000 per year.
Spencer’s statement
Spencer issued a response late Monday evening.
“I would like to address some rumors and concerns regarding a post I sent on Thursday night following our Lady Lancers Regional Finals basketball game,” the letter begins.
Spencer wrote that the post was “an accident,” and “I am sorry it has been taken out of context so I want to provide some clarity.”
Spencer said that he had stopped at a rest area on his way home from the basketball game and was reading text messages from friends, including one with a Facebook link. “I assumed it opened to my personal page, but instead it did not switch over and was still on the Federal Hocking Local Schools page,” he wrote.
He and his friend had been discussing teacher pay in Morgan Local Schools, he wrote; “I grew up in Morgan Local Schools and most of my family still resides there.”
The friend agreed with the post’s call for a $70,000 minimum teacher salary, he said, but, “I happened to have data showing the salaries and I posted something to the effect that she didn’t know how much they got paid and it was more than she thought,” he wrote.
“I was not trying to inflame the public but rather clarify a fact I found in public records,” he said.
The comment had “nothing to do with Federal Hocking,” he wrote, and “I am sorry this has caused issues in our district.”
In a numbered list of 10 items for “additional clarification,” Spencer notes that “I married a teacher,” that he “never made more than $37,000 as a teacher,” and “I get the same pay raise as teachers when negotiated.”
“I am a teacher first and will always consider myself a teacher,” he wrote.
The list goes on to draw attention to the district’s social media page: “The likes are way up and I have posted nearly 300 positive things about Federal Hocking Local Schools.”
The letter ends, “All I can do is own it, make changes and move forward. I hope you will come along with me so we can help all of our kids find success.”
Representatives of the Federal Hocking Teachers Association did not return a request for comment in time for publication.
Other comments on social media
Several community members have sent the Independent screenshots of comments Spencer made using a Facebook account under the name J.E. Spen, also addressing issues in Morgan Local Schools. (That account name has since been changed.)
One screenshot shows a commenter asking, “But will the eggs, gas and milk be cheaper?”
Spencer responded, “i hope not. Lol. I want them to feel pain. I can afford it.”
In another exchange, Spencer calls a commenter “a disrespectful, uninformed, uneducated, angry lady” and suggests that they “should stop fighting and listen to people who know what they’re talking about.”
Among the more than 75 comments Spencer made on a Jan. 30 post about a proposal to cut career technology programs at Morgan High School is one in which he challenges a commenter to fight: “If you wanna insult me, i’ll be around so you can test out your manhood.”
The comment that caught the most eyes, however, was a response to a comment accusing Spencer of using a fake profile “because you aren’t … big enough to post who you really are.”
In response, Spencer wrote, “In the words of a friend, you silly goose. Haven’t you heard? I’m the white knight. Protector of district administrators around the world and keeper of truth. My mission is not to allow people to mislead others. The truth shall set you free.”
He then added, “I do agree with you about being bigger. I want to keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger. I’ll keep working on it. Thanks for your feedback”
He then posted two photographs: a bare-chested selfie depicting his flexed right arm and an illustration of a knight on a rearing horse, with his face superimposed on the knight’s head.
The white knight image currently appears on the front page of an anonymous, “Bridgerton”-inspired blog that satirizes Spencer and the board. The image is under the heading, “How long will this King’s reign last? Send in your best guess!” and followed by a list of superintendent openings around the state.
The white knight image and language also was featured on T-shirts made by Sequoyah Milhoan, a senior at Federal Hocking High School. The flexing selfie is on the front, surrounded by various images — some of which imply that Spencer uses steroids — and his words about “getting bigger and bigger and bigger.”
A Federal Hocking High School student made T-shirts for himself and friends featuring the images and words Superintendent Jason Spencer posted on a Facebook thread from a personal account.
“I created these shirts to bring attention to the problem at hand, ‘the white knight,’ our superintendent,” Milhoan said.
The Independent contacted Sheridan-Boyd Tuesday morning to determine if the board had discussed Spencer’s other Facebook posts or just the comment using the district’s Facebook account.
“I cannot share the detailed discussion of executive session,” she replied by text. “However, be assured that the Board is reviewing the issues that have been brought to its attention.”
The Independent was unable to reach Spencer for comment on this story. He has not responded to previous requests for comment.
Jozlyn Bew contributed reporting for this story.
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