Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Gene Kennedy reportingThe Box Elder High School pottery teacher who's been on paid leave since asbestos was found in his classroom is headed back to work.
The teacher and the superintendent struck some type of agreement. Both sides are tight-lipped about the details, but it was no secret the pottery teacher was a popular guy, admired by colleagues, parents and a lot of students.
In the first two minutes of tonight's school board meeting, the surprise announcement that Lee Burningham will return to Box Elder High School March 25th.
One parent, Dody Blauer, said, "I'm just so grateful. You know it's the students who would be losing such a wonderful teacher, it's the students who would suffer."
Student Tristen Vigil said, "We feel really relieved that he's gonna be back in the classroom, and we hope he's here to stay for a while."
Lee Burningham said, "I'm just glad to be back working with the kids."
Burningham was put on paid leave after he allowed his students to throw away loose floor tiles from the pottery classroom, tiles that had asbestos in them. Test results later came back showing a minimal health risk to students, and the superintendent admitted to KSL he had other reasons for putting Burningham on paid leave. One reason cited was that Burningham took pottery students to out-of-state conferences against the advice of school officials.
But behind closed doors, both parties worked through their concerns. The students not only get their teacher back but a revamped pottery classroom as well. District officials say all the asbestos concerns will be solved before students return from spring break. It's something this pottery teacher waited 16 years for.
E-mail: gkennedy@ksl.com
