Gannon Stauch’s stepmom lost teaching license after ‘falsely claiming missing boy’s mom’s family harassed her at work’
THE stepmother of Gannon Stauch claimed she had to quit her teaching job because she was being harassed by people close to the missing boy's mother.
Documents obtained by The Sun show that LeTecia Stauch stopped turning up for her new job just two days into the 2015 school year.
She blamed her sudden exit on the fact that she was facing backlash because the district superintendent was the uncle of Gannon's mother Landon Hiott.
LeTecia had married Gannon's father Eugene by then, a little over a year after divorcing her first husband.
It was the second marriage for both husband and wife.
The South Carolina Board of Education investigated the alleged harassment and retaliation campaign, and determined LeTecia's claims were "unsubstantiated" at a hearing.
That investigation also found that LeTecia has breached her contract by abandoning her post, and the board ruled to suspend her teaching license for 180 days.
LeTecia is again dealing with unsubstantiated rumors, but this time about her.
Many have tried to link her to the disappearance of Gannon based on the fact that LeTecia was the last person to see her 11-year-old stepson alive.
There is also video of Gannon getting into his stepmother's car that raised red flags among some on the Internet, despite police saying there were no suspects at this time.
This prompted LeTecia to release a statement last week declaring her innocence, and claiming that police had cleared her of any wrongdoing in the ongoing investigation.
Authorities would not confirm LeTecia's claims however, and only said that they had not been notified prior to the release of her statement.
One person who has come to LeTecia's defense though is Gannon's mother.
Landon responded to those accusing LeTetcia of being involved in the disappearance by sharing a Facebook post that urged everyone to work together and try to find her son rather than spend time pointing fingers.
The show of support was somewhat surprising given LeTecia's past accusations against Landon.
The Order of Suspension handed down by the South Carolina Board of Education states that LeTecia signed a contract in 2015 with the Marion County School District.
She then attended the five-day training program for the district before starting her job as a middle school social studies teacher.
Two days into the school year, LeTecia stopped showing up to work.
Calls and emails went unanswered until two days later, when LeTecia claimed that she had requested a transfer and was being bullied by staff.
"In that email Mrs Stauch indicated that she left the district because she experienced harassment and retaliation after requesting to be released fro her contract due to a pending military move, which she claims had been denied," reads the Board of Education filing on the matter.
"She also alleged that district superintendent's niece was her husband's ex-wife and that the harassment and retaliation were due to this relationship."
An investigation into these allegations failed to substantiate even one of LeTecia's claims according to the order.
The case file also sates that LeTecia threatened to file a complaint against the district with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission if she were not let out of her contract.
It was district who ultimately filed a complaint though, ruling that LeTecia had in abandoned her position and breached her contract.
This decision was also based on the discovery that LeTecia had accepted a position in another school district as well that year.
As a result of this breach in her contract, the state suspended her educator's certification for 180 days.
On her Linked In profile, LeTecia claims to have gone back to work after that suspension and worked as an Education Specialist for the state until 2018.
The Board of Education confirmed this, telling The Sun that LeTecia took a job in Dorchester County in 2017, and the following year in Berkeley County.
LeTecia, who changed her name to Tecia on Linked In, then left South Carolina and moved to Colorado with Gannon and her husband.
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Late last month, Gannon went missing while home with his stepmother.
LeTecia told the El Paso County Sheriff's Office that Gannon left home through a side door on January 27 to walk to a friend's house in Colorado Springs.
Officers initially filed Gannon's disappearance as a "report for a juvenile runaway" after speaking to LeTecia, and did not classify him as a missing person until three days later on January 30.
The search for the boy has not slowed down since that time, and volunteers are continuing to arrive in Colorado Springs from around the country to assist local law enforcement each day.
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