Teacher on leave amid photo inquiry

— A Shawnee SPRINGFIELD High School English teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave while the district investigates the origin of a photo distributed in the community that appears to show her alone in a classroom with an exposed breast.

School officials met Monday morning to formally place Kristina Karbasi on leave through Friday, Jan. 9.

The investigation into the photo, which was emailed to school officials and news media late last week, is ongoing, Superintendent Gregg Morris said.

“We don’t know the timeline at this point,” he said.

The district is working to determine the origin of the photo, who received it and how it was distributed, Morris said.

“We have found no evidence of it in the school,” he said.

The letter sent to Karbasi and submitted to her personnel file states, “an internal investigation is warranted into reports you have engaged in unprofessional conduct in the workplace that may violate various policies.”

Parents who spoke to media anonymously initially reported that the photo had been found on a student’s cellphone, but Morris said school officials haven’t been able to confirm that information.

The investigation is only internal at this point, but the letter states findings of the schools probe could be turned over to children services, law enforcement and the Ohio Department of Education if necessary.

“We have no report or complaint of any kind filed by Shawnee Local Schools regarding any incident with a teacher,” Sheriff Gene Kelly said Monday.

Karbasi couldn’t be reached for comment on Monday.

Her mother, Vicki Sims, spoke to the Springfield News-Sun and WHIO-TV on Friday, speculating that the photo might have been leaked by an ex-boyfriend. Sims couldn’t be reached on Monday.

Karbasi was hired as a teacher in the district in 2013 after serving as a substitute. She also works as a cheerleading adviser.

She has a master’s of education from Wright State University, according to her personnel file. There are no previous notes of discipline or poor performance reviews in the file.