Zickefoose was employed by the school district from August 2017 until June 2024, when the Vandalia-Butler board of education voted not to renew his employment contract.
The lawsuit categorizes the contract non-renewal as a “ruse” and asserts Zickefoose was targeted for having previously reported the district and district officials to the Ohio State Board of Education’s Office of Professional Conduct for alleged malfeasance.
Zickefoose had reported concerns stemming from an incident in fall 2021, when he claims he discovered there were “missing funds” in the track and field team’s account, which is primarily filled with team fundraiser revenues.
The lawsuit asserts no action was taken by the administration to investigate after Zickefoose brought the cash shortage to the attention of district leaders. Then Zickefoose reportedly took it upon himself to report the missing funds to the state.
Vandalia-Butler City Schools Superintendent Rob O’Leary, in a statement to this newspaper, denied all allegations alleged by Zickefoose.
“Because of pending litigation, we will not provide significant comments about this situation. However, in the court of public opinion, sometimes silence can be interpreted as guilt; I want to assure our community and school district that the allegations made by a former employee are untrue. We are confident that the facts will prove this as the process plays out,” O’Leary wrote in the Tuesday statement.
“The former employee was not terminated. This person’s contract was non-renewed according to the guidelines of our collective bargaining agreement and the Ohio Revised Code,” O’Leary continued. “The former employee had the opportunity to appeal the non-renewal decision to the courts and chose not to do so.”
O’Leary further denied any alleged financial mismanagement.
“(T)he district in no way mismanaged funds. The audit by the State of Ohio has already been completed, and the district received a clean audit report,” O’Leary said. “The intentions and timing of these allegations are not coincidental. They follow a series of complaints that have been harassing toward our school district and aim to smear the reputation of our school district, particularly Mr. Shumaker.”
Zickefoose’s lawsuit also lists then-athletic director Jordan Shumaker and girls track coach Jason Sutherland as co-defendants along with the district.
In November, Shumaker was selected to take over the role of district treasurer beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. He will replace outgoing treasurer Eric Beavers.
According to the lawsuit, Sutherland was hired as a coach for the 2021-2022 school year.
Zickefoose claims he was subsequently approached in spring 2022 by a student, who made accusations against Sutherland.
“A student athlete ... (said) he didn’t feel comfortable around (Sutherland) because when he and Sutherland were previously at neighboring lake houses, Sutherland was intoxicated and wanted to fight him as well as other boys,” the lawsuit states.
Zickefoose claims he reported the incident to athletic director Shumaker “several times.”
In the fall of that year, Shumaker reportedly asked Zickefoose to resign from his coaching position, a request Zickefoose asserts was in retaliation for his report against Sutherland.
Zickefoose then took a track coaching position at Tipp City schools, the lawsuit states.
Soon after taking the new position, Tipp City track coaches allegedly discovered a Vandalia-Butler student athlete was “cheating during track events” and was subsequently disqualified from at least one of the events.
Zickefoose, who at this time still worked as a teacher for Vandalia-Butler, said he was targeted during school hours by coach Sutherland — who at one point reportedly “shoulder checked” Zickefoose in the hallway — allegedly in retaliation for the track athlete’s disqualification.
“We will defend our school district against these false allegations,” O’Leary wrote. “While we respect the legal process, we will take every step necessary to defend our reputation.”
The district is seeking dismissal of the lawsuit, court records show.
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