A suspended Oxford High School teacher is facing termination as a result of her alleged role in her husband’s alleged sexual abuse of a student.
Sixteen tenure charges were approved by the school board Sept. 22 against OHS special education teacher Margaret Sullivan Keely, who is facing misdemeanor criminal charge of failure to report (child abusive activities) as a mandated reporter (i.e. a teacher).
A tenure charge is the first step toward firing a teacher or administrator who’s been with a school district long enough to earn tenure.
‘We did our own thorough investigation and felt there was enough evidence to suggest inappropriate behavior on her part,? said Oxford Superintendent Dr. William Skilling. ‘We documented those in the tenure charges that we brought to the board.?
According to Skilling, if Keely decides to appeal, it could take at least two or three months before the tenure charges go before the State Tenure Commission for a hearing.
Keely has 20 business days to appeal from Sept. 22.
If she opts not to fight the charges, her termination is automatic, Skilling said.
Keely, who was notified in August of her suspension without pay or benefits, could not be reached for comment. Currently, she has no involvement with OHS and is not allowed on school property.
Meanwhile, the teacher faces a pretrial court date Oct. 30 in Clarkston 52-2 District Court in front of Judge Dana Fortinberry.
Her husband, William Arthur Keely, 64, will have a preliminary exam on that same date. A convicted sex offender, he faces several charges: three counts of child sexual abuse activity (a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison); four counts of a felon in possession of a firearm; four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, one count of criminal sexual conduct fourth degree; and one count of providing pornography to a minor.
Nancy Kammer, Deputy Superintendent for Human Resources, said that there was no indication in the past of any problems with Keely or in her performance as a teacher.
‘Overall, as far as her performance as teacher, she did a good job,? Kammer said. ‘But these obviously are grave concerns that surfaced. We investigated and felt that it merited the sanctions.?
Kammer added that this type of situation is not typical for Oxford Schools.
Skilling has been serving as superintendent for two years and said that he hadn’t had any direct dealings with Keely and had no opinions of her as a teacher. Like Kammer, he’d had no suspicions.
He added: ‘I haven’t heard from anyone anything either way, but had no reason to believe [Keely] wasn’t doing a good job in her role. If someone’s not performing well, it would reach me.?
Keely and her husband were arraigned July 3 on the charges. William Keely was given a $6.5 million bond and remains in the Oakland County Jail. Keely has been free on bond after having posted 10 percent of a $10,000 bond and has been ordered not to go on OHS property.
Police say that, two years ago, Keely befriended a 14-year-old freshman girl (who was not her student) and invited the student to the Keely home on Hummer Lake Road to do odd jobs. This went on for two years, as the girl would go to the home on the weekends.
William Keely then met the girl and allegedly asked her to test sex toys under the pretense that she would be paid by the company that manufactured them. On June 26, 2008, while the girl was at the Keely house watching a movie, William Keely allegedly grabbed the teen’s breast and groin and told her, ‘Your body wants it.? The girl then fled the home and reported the incident to the police.
Back in 2002, William Keely pled no contest to four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and served 10 months of a one-year sentence before being placed on probation.
He was convicted of sexually assaulting his then-14-year-old foster daughter on at least two occasions.