A Hamilton County Board of Education member is calling for the immediate termination of a Signal Mountain Middle-High School teacher after he failed to report his June indictment on theft and drug charges.

"As onerous as the indictment charges are, he didn't follow the policies, and I believe this alone is grounds for immediate termination," said Chip Baker, the District 2 board member who represents the Signal Mountain school and is the parent of three children who attend the school. "I would demand very quick action."

Wes Greene, a math teacher at the school, and Jacqueline Newman were indicted June 17 on charges of criminal conspiracy, theft over $10,000, unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell and fraud, according to court documents.

The Hamilton County grand jury indictment states that, between May 2008 and April 2009, Ms. Newman, a former Walgreens pharmacy technician, filled fraudulent prescriptions for hydrocodone or Xanax that Mr. Green then sold on the streets for cash.

The two, who are both 28, were booked into the Hamilton County Jail on June 18 and posted $10,000 bond each, jail officials said. The two are scheduled to appear in Criminal Court Judge Don Poole's courtroom Monday.

According to Hamilton County Board of Education policy, certified staff have five days to report any arrest or conviction to a superintendent or a designee, school district spokeswoman Danielle Clark said.

Eddie Gravitte, school principal, said he was unaware of Mr. Greene's arrest until contacted by media Thursday.

"I have not received any information about this from Mr. Greene," he said,

"This is absolutely not anything I could have expected," he said. "While we can't make accurate judgments at this point until a full investigation takes place, I would hope someone in the teaching profession would behave at a higher standard."

According to newspaper reports, Mr. Greene and Ms. Newman, both graduates of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, were to be married June 27 at Dallas Bay Baptist Church.

Mr. Gravitte said he last spoke to Mr. Greene at the wedding, and he said the couple is honeymooning in Mexico. He said his recent efforts to contact Mr. Greene on his cell phone were unsuccessful.

Efforts by the Chattanooga Times Free Press to reach Mr. Greene were unsuccessful.

Ms. Clark said the school district will launch its own investigation Monday.

"Whatever we find will determine what disciplinary actions will be taken," she said. "The board and school district will cooperate fully with law enforcement."

Mr. Gravitte said that no official notification has been made to parents of students at the school.

"It would be premature to issue a statement until we can conduct an internal investigation," he said.

For Mr. Baker, the investigation cannot start soon enough.

"It bothers me that there has been an indictment like this that nobody knows about," he said. "This incident is an aberration for a school having completed such a great first year with such positive upward momentum. I would like to see the strictest penalties apply."

Tech Talk