GALION — A Galion City Schools teacher accused of engaging in an inappropriate emotional and sexual relationship with a student is no longer employed by the district.

The Board of Education voted 4-0 during a special meeting on Monday, March 29 to accept the resignation in lieu of termination from Richard Walker. He was a teacher at Galion Middle School. Walker submitted his written resignation on March 26.

According to a press release the district issued following its meeting on Monday, the allegation of an inappropriate relationship between Walker and a former student was communicated to district administrators on March 11. The press release states that the “allegation was such that, per Board of Education policy, Walker was immediately placed on administrative leave while the district launched a confidential, internal investigation. The District worked collaboratively with the Galion City Police Department during this process.”

“The safety and well-being of our students is always our top priority,” Superintendent Jennifer Allerding said. “Through the confidential, internal investigation, it was determined in a subsequent disciplinary meeting that our policies were, in fact, were violated. Mr. Walker’s employment with the Galion City School District has now ended.”

Galion Police Chief Brian Saterfield said Monday that there is no further investigation of Walker in progress and no charges have been filed in regard to the matter.

Documents provided by the Board of Education noted that once the allegation was received, the district initiated an internal investigation on March 15.

The Board of Education document noted that the internal investigation was concluded on March 23 and “confirmed that Walker had an inappropriate emotional and sexual relationship with a former student of the Galion City School District, which started at the time, immediately before, or immediately after the student graduated from the Galion City School District in June of 2019, and which continued for a period of one year following the former student’s graduation from the District. The results from the investigation included Walker’s own admission to the inappropriate emotional and sexual relationship.”

The document noted that the relationship is a violation of Galion City Schools Board Policy and a violation of “applicable provisions of both versions of the Licensure Code of Professional Conduct for Ohio Educators.”

According to the document, Walker “engaged in unprofessional conduct involving assigned classes at the Galion Middle School during the 2020-2021 school year. It was noted that on numerous occasions since November 2020, Walker asked another teacher to teach or supervise his classes while he went to the middle school gymnasium and paced the floor.”

Furthermore, it was reported that Walker discussed his “mental/psychological conditions/state” with students in his classes at Galion Middle School. During those discussions, Walker told students about his use of medication, according to the board document released Monday.