Dr. Martin RingstaffThe organization for school superintendents in Tennessee has wiped away all references to Martin Ringstaff on its website.
Ringstaff, the Cleveland City Schools director who admitted this week to sending explicit Facebook messages to a woman who is not his wife, served as a member of the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents last year. But as of Wednesday, the organization's website does not list Ringstaff among the state's superintendents.
Also, a "spotlight" article praising Ringstaff is no longer on the website. Published last Friday, the article praised Ringstaff for giving students more access to technology, partnering with a local community college and sending some engineering students on a trip to Central America.
On Sunday night, a Twitter account run by an anonymous user published screenshots of Facebook messages sent by Ringstaff to an unidentified woman. In the messages, Ringstaff tells the woman he is going to have sex with her in a parking lot, praises her breasts and sends her a picture of his penis.
In a statement Monday night, Ringstaff confirmed he sent explicit messages to a woman who is not his wife, though he did not specify whether the messages seen on the Twitter account came from him. He has not returned multiple calls seeking comment.
Regardless, he is no longer on the state school superintendent organization's website.
"The situation Mr. Ringstaff put himself in was not within the standards of leadership we require and (TOSS Executive Director Wayne) Miller instructed me to remove the information," said Sara Bunch, the organization's communication's director.
Ringstaff's future with Cleveland City Schools is unclear. A spokeswoman for the school board announced Wednesday that the elected officials will hold a special meeting to discuss Ringstaff at noon on Friday.
"On the advice of our attorney," board chairwoman Dawn Robinson wrote in a statement, "there will be no further comments from Board of Education members until this meeting."
Chuck Cagle, the lawyer for the school board, said officials have not reached any conclusions about their director. He said they will not discuss the issue until they are in front of the public during their meeting Friday.
In addition to his role as the school system's director, Ringstaff served on the TOSS board from at least April through September of last year, according to meeting minutes. Cagle said Ringstaff had already decided to leave that board prior to this week's controversy.
Asked whether Ringstaff has in fact resigned, Bunch wrote in an email, "We have been made aware of a called board meeting being held on Friday where we expect his situation to be discussed."
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at tjett@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6476.