BETH RUCKER
Associated Press Writer
KNOXVILLE, – A principal shot at an elementary school was one of several people who had previously expressed concerns about the fourth-grade teacher who is now charged with the shooting.
Inskip Elementary Principal Elisa Luna met in November with Knox County School investigators who were reviewing allegations that teacher Mark Stephen Foster had mental health problems that could make him a danger to staff and students. She told them other staff members thought Foster acted like “two different people” at times.
Police say Foster, 48, shot Luna and Assistant Principal Amy Brace several times each on Wednesday afternoon in the school’s office, not long after the two informed him his contract with the school system would not be renewed for the next school year.
Foster, of Clinton, was arraigned Thursday on two counts of attempted first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a gun on school property. He is being held with bond set at $1 million.
“There had been some preliminary conversation about having a school security officer present (for the meeting with Foster),” Knox County Schools Superintendent James McIntyre Jr. said Thursday. “It’s my understanding a decision was made at a school level not to have that happen for a variety of reasons.”
Luna was upgraded to serious condition on Friday morning. Brace remained in stable condition.
“The Luna family is incredibly appreciative of and grateful for all of the thoughts and prayers coming from across the state of Tennessee and throughout the nation for our precious Elisa and for our family,” the family said in a statement Friday.
McIntyre said the contract decision was made by Luna and he couldn’t say what prompted her decision to let him go.
Personnel records showed Luna had admonished Foster last week after getting a complaint that he yelled at students. Several students had also requested to be removed from Foster’s class because they felt he was mean to them while others said Foster told his students to “shut up” on occasion.
Foster, who had worked at Inskip since August 2008, told Luna and Brace that he had “been under pressure repeatedly” in response to the complaints.
The November investigation by the school system was prompted by an anonymous e-mail to the superintendent by a person who claimed Foster was a “ticking time bomb.”
School investigators contacted more than a dozen people whose names were suggested by the tipster, but no one could confirm Foster had any mental health problems or had ever spent time in a mental health facility.
Investigators learned from authorities about allegations that Foster had threatened other people. They also learned that his brother, Anthony Foster, sought an order of protection in April 2009 against him, but the order was dismissed the following month and investigators were concerned about Anthony Foster’s credibility.
“What was found was family issues, some minor disputes over property lines and a few folks who really didn’t like Mark Foster,” McIntyre said. “What was not found was any evidence of a crime nor any indication that Mark Foster represented any imminent threat.”
Because it did not appear Foster had violated any school policy, the case was closed in December.
Still, documents from the investigation revealed many others were concerned about Foster’s temperament.
A letter in the file dated Oct. 17, 2005 appeared to be written by Janice Foster, his mother. The letter said Foster had threatened in the past to kill both himself and his employer.
“He has a lot of anger and I feel he could be dangerous,” the letter read. Foster’s mother died in April 2009.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department had also received several complaints against Foster in the past decade but said Foster had no record of arrests there.
One complaint from an unidentified woman in August 2006 said Foster was harassing her with his car while she was driving. Another unidentified woman complained in March 2009 that Foster had threatened her for giving him a bad haircut. No action was taken against him in court in either case.
By state law, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation background checks are conducted on all prospective teachers. Foster’s background check, which included a fingerprint search, drug test and review of Department of Children’s Services records, was clean, McIntyre said.
Tennessee Department of Education spokeswoman Amanda Anderson said background checks will turn up criminal convictions but won’t generate information about orders of protection that have been dismissed or basic complaints to police.
“It’s a really thin line,” she said. “Sometimes when you have issues like this there are warning signs that never show up in the background checks.”
Police are still trying to determine if a weapon found in Foster’s car after he was arrested shortly after the shooting is connected to the incident. They have not determined if Foster obtained the gun legally.
The Tennessee Department of Safety had no record of a gun permit under Mark Foster’s name.
Foster was scheduled for a Feb. 22 hearing, and public defender Mark Stephens was appointed to defend him. Stephens did not immediately return a call seeking comment.