The Pickerington Local Schools District has reversed a decision to withhold pay from a teacher charged with two counts of homicide.
The District announced earlier this week 40-year-old Angela Luke would be placed on unpaid suspension after she was accused of killing her husband in a domestic quarrel on Sunday. Luke is a second grade teacher at Tussing Elementary in Reynoldsburg
Police say Mrs. Luke struck her husband, Daniel Luke, with her vehicle during an argument outside of their home on the 9900 block of Alspach Road near Canal Winchester.
According to Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen, Angela was trying to flee the couple’s home with their two young daughters around 9:00 p.m. when her husband was hit. Mrs. Luke told investigators Daniel was attempting to hold on to the vehicle at the time of the incident.
The 42-year-old father died a day later at Diley Ridge Medical Center.
Luke has entered not guilty pleas to charges of reckless homicide and aggravated vehicular homicide
On Wednesday, the district said it will reinstate Luke’s pay “following a review of the 911 call, discussions with district legal counsel and the Ohio Department of Education, and consultation with the district board of education.”
“What happened Sunday was a tragedy for Angela, her family, and the family of her late husband,” Pickerington Schools Superintendent Valerie Browning-Thompson said. “While state law requires the district to suspend a teacher from all duties that require the care, custody or control of a child during the pendency of court action for something as serious as reckless homicide, the decision about whether to suspend pay is up to the discretion of the district.”
The District said Luke was initially placed on unpaid suspension “because reckless homicide is on a list of the Ohio Revised Code’s ‘irrevocable offenses’ that could result in her teaching license to be revoked.”
Luke faces up to six years in prison, if convicted on both counts. She is free on her own recognizance.
