Fargo School Board votes to discharge Kevin Kennedy

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - After more than 10 hours in executive session, the Fargo School Board voted on Tuesday, June 21, to remove Kevin Kennedy from his teaching position, with cause.

The Fargo School Board held a discharge hearing for the English teacher accused of inappropriate behavior with students. Kevin Kennedy had been suspended without pay since April; at that time, Superintendent Dr. Rupak Gandhi recommended he be discharged.

The investigation was opened after the school district received a complaint in March, claiming Kennedy had “crossed boundaries” with students and created an uncomfortable learning environment.

Students claim he made inappropriate comments and that he is ‘overly’ interested in relationships between students, encouraging them to kiss.

Kennedy taught theater arts and students reported feeling uncomfortable, saying he would touch them without permission.

The school district’s human resources officer wrote in the investigative report, “My determination is based on your inappropriate, overly personal, and highly suggestive comments to students and the act of inappropriately touching students.”

The full investigative report can be found HERE.

Kennedy was also an instructor at Trollwood Performing Arts School. Executive Director Kathy Anderson tells Valley News Live, “As a program of Fargo Public Schools, Mr. Kennedy will not be working at Trollwood this season or in the future.”