LAFAYETTE, Ga. – Days after police arrested him on a child pornography charge, the Walker County Board of Education voted to extend eighth grade social studies teacher Jim Barrett’s contract through the next school year.
The outcome of the criminal case against Barrett can alter his status with the district, Superintendent Damon Raines said Tuesday. He added that Barrett has worked away from students since Nov. 29, two weeks after police searched his Saddle Ridge Elementary and Middle School classroom, his Honda Element and his Ringgold home. In a district administrative office, Barrett has created social studies curriculum for students between third and eighth grades.
“He continues to be productive as an employee,” Raines said.
Barrett, president of the Walker County Association of Educators and a critic of Raines, is accused of looking up “child erotica type material” on his work iPad. The Fort Oglethorpe Police Department arrested him on April 5. The board voted, 3-2, to extend his contract at its April 9 planning session meeting because teachers have due process rights, Raines said.
Board members Mike Carruth, Phyllis Hunter and Bobby McNabb voted to extend Barrett’s contract. Board members Karen Stoker and Dale Wilson voted against keeping him on the payroll. Four of the elected officials did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday, and Hunter declined to comment.