State denies teaching license for ex-coach
Investigators: Luebke shared pics of student in her underwear.
Ex-Centerville teacher, football coach Brian Luebke permanently denied ability to renew teaching license after state investigation.
A former Centerville CENTERVILLE — teacher and football coach was permanently denied the ability to renew his teaching license after a state investigation found he shared pictures of a student in her underwear in a group text message and that numerous “inappropriate” websites were viewed on his school-owned computer.
The state school board this month voted unanimously to permanently deny Brian Luebke’s license application.
The state hearing officer’s report, stemming from a January meeting, said Luebke worked for Centerville schools from 2007 until Dec. 7, 2015, and was an assistant football coach there from 2013-15. As an intervention specialist teacher, he worked with students who had a wide variety of disabilities.
Luebke previously taught
continued from B1 Hamilton, Celina and at other schools, and he coached for Fairmont High School from 2008-11, according to the report.
The report says that while Luebke was an assistant Centerville football coach, he participated in a group text with about eight other coaches, including then-head football coach Rodney Roberts. The group text was often a mix of coaching information, social exchanges and pictures of nude or near- nude women — a “high per- centage” of which were sent by Luebke, according to the report.
In December 2015, Luebke sent the pictures of the student in her underwear to Roberts and some assistant coaches, one of whom reported him to the school principal. Luebke also kept the pictures on his school computer, and a review of the browser history on Lueb- ke’s school-owned computer showed he visited numer- ous web sites featuring “sex- ual content” during school hours, according to the hearing officer’s report.
Luebke could not imme- diately be reached for com- ment Wednesday.
In Luebke’s response to the hearing officer, through an attorney, he argued he texted the pictures of the student in her underwear to the other coaches in an attempt to protect the stu- dent, because members of the football team had been sharing the pictures and mak- ing inappropriate comments about them on social media.
Regarding things found on his school-owned computer, Luebke argued he frequently had to be away from the computer, and other people had access to it. The investiga- tor wrote that evidence suggested Luebke visited the websites on his computer.
Luebke was placed on administrative leave by Cen- terville City Schools on Dec. 7, 2015, and he agreed on Jan. 6, 2016, to resign, effective Feb. 29, 2016, according to the state report.
Sarah Swan, community relations specialist for the school district, said Luebke “was the only staff member disciplined based on the findings of the district’s investigation.”
Luebke’s five-year intervention specialist license and five-year “special all grades” teaching license expired in June 2016. He applied for renewal in spring 2016, and that application resulted in the state investigation.
This month, the state board permanently denied his application, saying his actions constituted conduct unbecoming an educator. Contact this reporter at 513483-5249 or email Wayne. Baker@coxinc.com. Contact this reporter at 937225-2278 or email Jeremy. Kelley@coxinc.com.