A Citrus High School teacher sent the superintendent his resignation letter after allegations he sent sexual text messages to a student.
"I mean every time you pick up your phone there's another teacher doing something inappropriate with a child," said parent Levi Solomon.
Paul Paleczny worked with children with disabilities in the Exceptional Student Education Program at Citrus High School. A parent complained to the school principal saying Paleczny sent inappropriate text messages to her son. In one text message, the teacher suggested the student perform a sexual act on another teacher for a higher grade.
"There's absolutely no reason whatsoever why a teacher needs to have
a student's cell phone number. There's just no reason for it," said parent Lisa Smith.
According to a statement from the school's principal, the parents also suggested the teacher messaged their son on New Year's Eve and told the student he was drunk. The principal said Paleczny stated he knows it was wrong to send a message to a student and he knows he "messed up," according to district documents.
Paleczny worked for the school district for 17 years. He started teaching in the district in 2002.
In his resignation letter, he stated "I feel that it is in everyone's best interest for both myself and the Citrus County School District to relinquish my position." He sent his resignation letter to the superintendent on September 28, 2017.
We stopped by the teacher's home tonight. He shut the lights off when he saw our camera.
A spokesperson for the Citrus County School district said this case will go to state education officials and the sheriff's office for review.
