The Olathe school board at a special meeting Tuesday night voted to fire Micah Horton, the choir teacher at Olathe North High School.
In an email to families Tuesday night, Olathe North principal Jason Herman said the school’s administration was “recently made aware of conduct in violation of board policies.”
Herman’s email said school officials notified Olathe district administrators, “who placed Horton on leave” and “referred the matter to local law enforcement.”
After an “internal investigation,” district administrators recommended Horton’s contract be terminated, which the board approved Tuesday night unanimously.
In a brief note that came with the vote, the board said Horton “will be prohibited from accessing any property owned by the Olathe Public Schools.”
In his email, Herman told families that if their child was “directly involved” in the matter concerning Horton, then they already would have been contacted as part of the internal investigation conducted by district officials.
Herman said a long-term substitute has been named to finish the rest of the current school year teaching choir at Olathe North. The school will look to hire a new permanent choir instructor before the 2024-25 school year that begins in August.
“Our substitute will be working closely with me, the rest of the administrative team as well as the performing arts department as we navigate this transition,” Herman said. “I am confident that our students will have an excellent remainder of the 2023-24 school year.”
Board documents show Horton was hired at Olathe North before the 2021-22 school year.
His LinkedIn profile says Horton was named the Olathe School District’s Secondary Teacher of the Year last year.
The LinkedIn profile also says he was formerly a vocal music and theater teacher for grades 6-12 in the Grandview school district before coming to Olathe.
As of Wednesday afternoon, online court records at Johnson County District Court showed no criminal charges had been filed against Horton.
The staff page on the Olathe North school website did not include Horton as of Wednesday.
