A Louisville private school has placed a faculty member on leave while it reopens an investigation into whether the employee had inappropriate sexual conduct with two female students roughly three decades ago.
St. Francis School first looked into complaints about the faculty member in 2015, but after handling the matter internally, chose to keep that person on the job, according to a letter posted on the school's website this week.
The school is now re-opening the investigation and apologizing for how it previously handled the matter.
"We acknowledge that the prior investigation did not accomplish all it could and should have, and for that we deeply apologize. We recognize the importance of addressing these issues with compassion, transparency, and fairness, and we are committed to doing so," the school said in a statement provided to Courier Journal.
St. Francis has campuses in Goshen and downtown Louisville. The school serves nearly 500 students in preschool through 12th grade and is known for its small class sizes.
The school, which said it has been "formulating a plan to re-evaluate" the allegations since mid-November, has hired a Boston-based attorney to lead the new investigation.