SAVANNAH, Mo. — The mother of a Savannah middle schooler wants to know who knew what when, but is unlikely to ever get the answers she’s looking for about a former Northeast Nodaway superintendent under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct.
Ken Grove, who left the Northeast Nodaway school district in 2019, was placed on administrative leave last week from his position as a middle school science teacher at the Savannah R-III school district, according to multiple news reports. The district did not respond to questions sent by The Forum to its communications coordinator Wednesday morning.
The administrative leave and investigation into Grove’s behavior came after a middle school student reported Grove to Savannah district officials for sexual misconduct, the student’s mother told The Forum. St. Joseph television station KQ2 reported that a criminal investigation has been opened by Savannah police, and the student’s mother told The Forum a restraining order has been filed against Grove on behalf of the student. The Forum is withholding the names of the student and the student’s mother, as well as other identifiable details.
It’s not the first time Grove has made headlines for being put on administrative leave: Grove spent nearly as much time on paid leave with Northeast Nodaway as he did on the job as superintendent — he started in July 2017, was placed on leave in October 2018 for undisclosed reasons, and continued to be paid by the district through the end of his contract in June 2019 per a separation agreement with the district.
That separation agreement has also further tied the hands of Northeast Nodaway administrators, who are legally unable to describe the circumstances of the leave, they said.
But that does little good for the mother of a 13-year-old girl in Savannah. Before school was even out last Tuesday, she said, her daughter had texted her about an incident involving Grove, and they immediately reported it to the school.
Afterward, it didn’t take much research for her to turn up Grove’s administrative leave at Northeast Nodaway in 2018, which naturally led to questions about whether the complaint at Savannah was the first of its kind.
Brenda Dougan, superintendent of Northeast Nodaway who took over after Grove’s departure in 2019, was unequivocal in a statement sent to The Forum.
“The separation agreement between Northeast Nodaway and Ken Grove was not related to any sexual misconduct,” Dougan said.
Nodaway County Sheriff Randy Strong told The Forum that no investigation by his office was ever opened, and no complaint was received involving Grove during that time period.
Administrative leave can be used for a wide range of reasons, all of them involving potential misconduct and all of them requiring confidentiality, according to Northeast Nodaway’s district policies. Because of the separation agreement, it’s unclear whether Grove was ever found to have committed any misconduct at all, much less what it may have been related to — further complicating what administrators are allowed to say to the public or other districts.
“I do feel like ALL the school districts should be answering questions, not just Savannah, but I’m just a mom,” she told The Forum. “Now a very pissed off mom that won’t rest until he’s not allowed to teach any longer, as well as take whomever I need to down with him in the process.”
But, since the reason for that suspension remains undisclosed, it’s unlikely the mother will ever be satisfied that there wasn’t a red flag that could have resulted in a very different Tuesday for her and her daughter last week, she said.
“I’m literally losing sleep because of it,” she said. “She’s 13 and I’ve told her we are doing it for every young girl to follow her.”
