THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WCTV) - Two Jerger Elementary School employees are no longer employed with Thomasville City Schools (TCS) following an investigation that found they “did not meet the district’s professional standards,” according to the school district.

In its statement released Friday, TCS did not identify the two employees.

However, the school district’s spokesperson Shannon Wolfrum confirmed to WCTV that “Mr. O’Quinn and Mr. Lee” were on leave status before the school district announced Friday they were no longer district employees.

Jerger Elementary’s website lists only two employees by those names, Physical Education (PE) coach Chuck Lee and PE teacher Ron O’Quinn. As of Tuesday afternoon, the former employees are still listed on the website.

School officials said that “while not criminal in nature,” the employees did not meet the expectations for district employees.

WCTV is working to reach out to the two former educators for any response to the district’s statement.

Just a day before the district released its statement, the Thomasville Police Department (TPD) also issued a statement on social media regarding what it described as “an update regarding the School Resource Officer (SRO) assignment at Jerger Elementary School.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, neither TCS nor TPD has released additional details about an incident at Jerger Elementary.

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However, the district said in its statement that Jerger is currently changing its School Resource Officer (SRO) assignment.

“Thomasville City Schools is actively working with the Thomasville Police Department to ensure that Jerger Elementary School has full-time school resource officer coverage available,” the school district said.

TCS’ spokesperson identified the school resource officer as Officer Neal.

In its statement, TPD said that, at the request of school district officials, the officer has been temporarily reassigned to other duties with the police department.

“Police Chief Wade Glover explained that the officer remains employed and in excellent standing” with the police department and “will continue to serve the Thomasville community with the same dignity and professionalism he provided to the students, faculty and staff of the Thomasville City Schools,” TPD said.

Since the announcement, a petition has been created with at least 630 signatures of community members calling on Officer Neal to be reinstated at the elementary school, saying that the “sudden decision” to remove Neal last left many of them “stunned and concerned.”

“Officer M. Neal has been a vital part of the Jerger Elementary School community, serving as the School Resource Officer (SRO) for years with unwavering dedication and compassion,” the petition read. ”Therefore, urge the school board and local authorities to reconsider their decision and reinstate Officer Neal to his vital role as soon as possible."

WCTV is working to learn more.

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