WILLIAMSPORT, Ohio — The superintendent of Westfall Local Schools in Pickaway County is facing calls for his resignation after allegations surfaced that he used his computer to access adult-oriented Web sites.
The Columbus Dispatch reported that Randy Cotner apologized to those who gathered Monday night for a board of education meeting, saying that he “made a mistake.”
Former school board president Larry Carfrey demanded Cotner’s resignation and displayed a stack of papers Carfrey said showed Cotner’s computer bypassed filtering software to access more than 100 questionable Web sites from 2006 to 2008. At least 50 of those sites were sexually oriented, Carfrey said.
Current school board president Kevin Steward told those at the meeting that the board met with Cotner on Friday concerning “inappropriate use” of his school computer, The Dispatch reported.
Cotner said that he has or will receive disciplinary action from the board, but declined to elaborate.
According to the school board, Cotner admitted that he had misused his school computer for more than two years, 10TV’s Tanisha Mallett reported.
“He basically said he had done the inappropriate use of the computer and told us that he was sorry and we basically at that point had to get legal advice before we moved any further,” said Kevin Steward, president of the Westfall School Board.
Steward said he had taken phone calls on Tuesday from concerned parents regarding Cotner’s status.
“He has been working with the children and I have had a lot of calls today and I did talk to Mr. Cotner about an hour and-a-half ago,” Steward said. “I told him he was not allowed on the school premises until he heard from me.”
The school board said it will decide in the next couple of days what will happen to Cotner, Mallett reported.