GALION—Jamie Christo, a long-time Assistant Coach and Custodian with Northmor Local Schools, has filed a lawsuit against the Northmor Board of Education.

Christo has been a custodian with the district since 2016 but has been a volunteer and contracted Assistant Coach since 1997.

Christo was suspended with pay on June 30 based on the school’s investigation into his excessive absences, alleged misreported time, and falsified time sheets.

After the Northmor Board of Education reviewed the evidence presented in a special hearing by both Superintendent Chad Redmon and Christo, the Northmor Board of Education chose to terminate Christo on August 17, 2022.

Christo contends in the lawsuit that he worked overtime and was therefore allowed to take comp time shortly after working overtime.

Plaintiff, as a member of the Custodial Staff, was not forced to use his Near Frequency Communication (NCF) tag to conduct his activities.

As a custodial staff member, Christo often used the service entrances and vehicle garages to conduct his daily activities.

These entrances did not/do not have NFC readers that would detect him accessing the buildings.

The Plaintiff (Christo) did ground maintenance and other tasks that did not require any NFC.

Christo attended a meeting on July 28 with Superintendent Chad Redmon to discuss the ongoing investigation. Redmon allegedly told him to resign.

Christi refused to resign.

In addition, Christo alleges verbal abuse and harassment occurred on the job, including other employees mocking him for an apparent seizure.

Christi also alleges that the proper protocol was not followed regarding his absences:

On information and belief, Plaintiff’s supervisor failed to report Plaintiff’s absence and misreported Plaintiff’s absences.

The Northmor Rules and regulations state as follows:

Discipline shall only be for just cause.

Discipline is to be administered in a progressive and corrective manner, provided that discipline may begin at any level, depending on the gravity of misconduct.

The graded penalty phase in the Rules and Regulations, in order of severity, are:

a. Verbal Reprimand
b. Written Reprimand
c. Suspension with pay
d. Suspension without pay
e. Termination

Christo alleges the Northmor School District did not follow its own guidelines regarding the ascending order of discipline.

Christo states he had never been reprimanded or disciplined by the Northmor School District.

Crawford County Now reached out to the Northmor Board of Education regarding the lawsuit and received this response:

On September 21, 2022, the Northmor Board of Education received notice that former custodian Jamie Christo filed a lawsuit against the Northmor Board of Education in Morrow County of Common Pleas. The Board has reviewed the complaint. The Board strongly disputes the allegations and believes the complaint is without merit. Mr. Christo was a properly terminated custodian pursuant to the negotiated agreement between the Board and the Northmor Classified Employees.

Crawford County Now will continue to cover this developing news story.