Band director accused of anti-harassment policy violations
Wapakoneta City Schools band director Klayton Hilleary has demanded a hearing before the board of education after being served with confirmation that board members voted to terminate his contract of employment.
Hilleary, who has been with the school district for more than 20 years, was suspended without pay and benefits pending the outcome of the termination proceedings. The action was taken after school officials investigated claims Hilleary repeatedly violated the district’s anti-harassment policy. The board action was taken Tuesday; Hilleary filed his request for a hearing on Thursday. Superintendent Aaron Rex said the public hearing process could extend Hilleary’s unpaid leave into the summer.
Documents obtained by a public records request included a letter of complaint written by Daniel Landis, also a member of the school district’s music department, as well as the compliance officer’s report that outlined the investigation of the allegations. Also provided was a letter of reprimand addressed to Hilleary dated Jan. 28, 2021, detailing what Rex called “inappropriate” conversations with students.
An in-depth investigation by district officials found Hilleary repeatedly violated the district's anti-harassment policy (policy 3362). In a summary by Mike Watt, acting as the compliance officer, he said the allegation was harassment based on sexual orientation, race and religion.
The allegations stem back several years, and include Hilleary portraying people with mental disabilities while addressing a class in the fall of 2018.
Hilleary contested the allegation of making fun of disabled people.
"I vehemently deny the depiction of my classroom setting by Mr. Landis," Hilleary said.
That spring (2019), Hilleary is alleged to have made an inappropriate joke to a student wearing a sweater with tape on either side that appeared to be covering his nipples.
In a letter, the accuser - Landis - said the joke was that the student's outfit could inappropriately excite a teacher.
Hilleary wrote that he couldn't recall the event and had no comment.
On Nov. 18, 2019, Hilleary appeared to have made a racial joke to a school colleague.
"Over the weekend, I had posted a photo onto my Facebook of my husband holding our dog,"
Landis said. "My husband is black. Our dog is dark brown… [Hilleary] said, 'I really wanted to comment on Facebook that your husband and your dog were matching, but I didn't want to offend anyone."
Hilleary said he was speaking to Landis as a friend and that his comments were never meant to be offensive.
Also in the fall of 2019, Landis said during a professional development meeting at the middle school, he and several colleagues - including Hilleary - were sitting at a table discussing prompts. After accidentally misspeaking, Landis said Hilleary suggested he was using a different vernacular, referencing the fact Landis' husband is black.
Hilleary said he couldn't recall the incident, but did say he hadn't had a single complaint against him by minority students. He said he and his wife have supported World Vision and Acacia Hope, two Christian outreach programs, for over 30 years.
In spring 2020, after dealing with a disciplinary issue, Landis said Hilleary started questioning him about his religious beliefs, something that Landis said made him feel uneasy.
"I am used to hearing religious folk try to impose their personal ideologies and religious doctrine on others, but I would never have expected that I would also need to endure the behavior while I am teaching in a public school," Landis said.
Hilleary challenged the assertion, asking how the conversation could have occurred while the school was closed due to the pandemic. He said the only time such a conversation could occur would be during personal time.
"Once again, had he (Daniel) expressed any any desire to change the subject I would have respected his wishes,"
Hilleary said.
In February 2020, Landis said he overheard students sharing stories about a band camp with an optional Bible study Hilleary offered. He said during the study Hilleary listed reasons why homosexuality was immoral. Among those reasons was Hilleary's belief life stared at fertilization. Landis said Hilleary then shared a joke: 'you can't fertilize a turd.'
Hilleary admitted to saying that and regretted how it was phrased.
And in October 2020, while students were in the choir room, two of them began discussing a conversation with Hilleary about that summer's band camp and talked about their interest in having children at some time.
The students then were told by Hilleary it was their duty as Christian women to be there for their husbands’ sexual needs, and that any woman who caught her husband in an affair was to be blamed because they weren't being good spouses.
During a meeting between Hilleary and Rex on Jan. 22, Hilleary said he couldn't recall the conversation, but later admitted during their Jan. 27 meeting it had taken place. He received a letter of reprimand at the time.
"Racism, sexism, and homophobia are at the core of much of the behavior Mr. Hilleary exhibits towards me," Landis wrote in his complaint. "More concerning is the fact that those same behaviors trickle into his daily interactions with students."
Include among the interviews with people listed in the complaint, Mary Dildine said she corrected Hilleary previously for comments he made regarding women in the military, but said she didn't take his comments as derogatory.
A student at the school, who attended a band camp at Ohio Northern University with Hilleary, asked for Hilleary's opinion on homosexuality. Hilleary said it was immoral and made a joke about it to the student.
Another student at the band camp described Hilleary as opinionated on the topics or religion, politics, race and homosexuality. The student said they heard Hilleary call a student a 'little sniffer.'
The student was surprised by Hilleary's comments, and explained the teacher’s comments as part of Hilleary's beliefs.
Another student admitted he thought Hilleary's comments funny at the time, and said Landis laughed as well.
Looking back, he admitted the comments were inappropriate, but said at the time they were funny.
One witness contacted by the compliance officer described Hilleary's behavior as 'repulsive,' although the witness said Hilleary normalized his behavior in the classroom and described him as a great teacher.
"He doesn't think about what he is saying and the affect it has on the people he is talking to," the student said.
In a final summary, Watt admitted that while the allegations were not submitted in a timely matter, they couldn't be ignored and ultimately found Landis' claims mostly true.
Wapakoneta City Schools Superintendent Aaron Rex said he wouldn't comment on an ongoing investigation, and all other inquiries were deferred to him.
The Wapakoneta Daily News reached out to Hilleary for comment but a telephone message was not returned by press time.