Emporia School Board issues statement on football team investigation

EMPORIA (KSNT) - The Wednesday night meeting of the Emporia School Board touched on the ongoing investigation into the Emporia High School's football team.

During the meeting, Board of Education President Leslie Seeley gave the following statement regarding the parent's concerns about the allegations of misconduct against the football team:

The district continues to work with local law enforcement and legal council in navigating a matter involving the Emporia High School football team which involves strict confidentiality pursuant to the family educational rights and privacy act and the Kansas student data privacy act. We as the board recognize the public attention this situation has received. The interest in specific details and the deep level of concern that people in our community are experiencing. However, we must continue to ensure that all steps are followed to ensure that the legal rights of various individuals are protected. Students will always be at the center of our work and they are the reason we pursued the opportunity to become board members. We, along with our district administration team, are committed to the physical and emotional safety and wellbeing of our students and we will continue to be guided by that commitment as we move forward.

Leslie Seeley

Allegations of misconduct were first made in August 2022 involving members of the EHS football team following a report from EHS principal Dathan Fischer. The Emporia Police Department became involved in investigating the issue. The Lyon County Attorney, Marc Goodman, confirmed in August that he has case reports from the football team investigation and that it is currently under review.

Little other information has been released about the investigation as it involves juveniles and an incident that occurred on school property.