By Jesse Dungan, San Jose Mercury News
Original publication date: March 19, 2011

Atherton Calif. — Almost two weeks after wrapping up an investigation into allegations that a frustrated Selby Lane School teacher swore at students and knocked over a desk, the teacher is still on paid leave, a Redwood City school district official confirmed Friday.

No action has yet been taken, school board vice president Hilary Paulson told The Daily News. She said math teacher John Haynes has remained on leave since an eighth-grade student called 911 from a cellphone inside a school bathroom March 1 and told Atherton police that Haynes lost his temper when her classmates failed to answer questions.

Paulson said the matter likely will return to the school board, which first discussed it in closed session March 9.

Paulson said she isn’t sure whether the math class is being led by a substitute teacher or another faculty member. District officials said throughout this week nothing has changed since the investigation concluded.

Selby Lane Principal Carolyn Williams declined to speak about the incident when approached at the school Friday afternoon and referred all questions to the district.

From the outset of the investigation, the district has said it won’t release details about the case, citing student privacy rights and Haynes’ due process rights.

“The investigation is merely the first step,” district Superintendent Jan Christensen stated in a March 9 announcement. “We must now decide what action, if any, is warranted by the results of our investigation.”

In her 11½-minute cellphone call, the 13-year-old student told a 911 dispatcher she was scared Haynes would catch her reporting the incident and cried a few times during the conversation, a recording of the call released by police revealed.

Police said when officers arrived at the school they found Haynes’ classroom to be calm. Police said Haynes apparently lifted a table a few inches off the ground and dropped it to get students’ attention, but the table fell on its side. They also said he raised his voice and used some profanity in class, but students didn’t seem worried.

Police determined Haynes didn’t threaten any student or commit a crime, so they turned the investigation over to the school district. The girl apparently recorded part of the teacher’s alleged tirade before leaving class, but police and the school district have declined to release the recording.

Haynes has been with the district for about 10 years and Christensen has called him an excellent teacher.

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