Did Gardner Edgerton school officials warn De Soto of nurse now charged in sex case?
Gardner Edgerton school district officials have, for 10 days, declined to answer questions about a former employee the district allegedly fired who was later hired by a neighboring high school and is now facing sex crime charges.
Richard Finazzo was fired from Gardner Edgerton High School in September 2016 because of suspicions he had an inappropriate relationship with a student, according to prosecutors.
But he found a new job 15 miles away at De Soto High School, where he worked as a school nurse. Finazzo is now charged in Johnson County District Court with having a sexual relationship with a student. Finazzo no longer works at the school.
The student in Finzazzo’s case struggled with anxiety and depression, according to court records. Finazzo was also accused of sexually harassing multiple students.
After Finazzo was charged last month, questions arose about why his firing at Gardner Edgerton did not stop him from being hired again at a nearby school.
Gardner Edgerton school officials did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails, over a period of 10 days, inquiring about Finazzo’s firing and their communication, if any, with the De Soto school district.
When a Star reporter visited the Gardner Edgerton school district offices Thursday, a spokesperson came outside the building but refused to answer questions.
“We don’t have anything to share on the topic,” said Ben Boothe, director of community relations, when asked whether the district had communicated with the De Soto school district during the hiring process.
Boothe also declined to confirm whether Finazzo had ever been employed at Gardner Edgerton as had been detailed in court records.
De Soto school district superintendent Frank Harwood told The Star last week that he was unaware that Finazzo had been fired from Gardner Edgerton prior to his employment at De Soto High School.
Harwood said he “wasn’t part of the hiring process” but said he didn’t think the individuals who were involved knew about Finazzo’s background either.
“We do background checks and reference checks and if we had any idea of a suspicion of inappropriate conduct with students he would not have been hired,” Harwood said.
In a separate letter to The Star, De Soto public information officer Alvie Cater said the district performs reference checks on all employees and “reserves the right to seek confidential reference checks from any and all current and former employers.”
This story was originally published July 25, 2019 at 5:37 PM.
