School nurse under fire, documents say

The superintendent of a suburban Kansas City school district says he wasn’t aware that a school nurse who’s charged with two counts of unlawful sexual relations with a minor had faced similar accusations at a previous job.

The Kansas City Star reports that De Soto, Kansas, Superintendent Frank Harwood said Tuesday that Richard Finazzo wouldn’t have been hired if the district “had any idea” of the suspicions. Charging documents say Finazzo resigned from De Soto High School in October while under suspicion for the same conduct that led to his firing two years ago from the nearby Gardner-Edgerton High School.

Prosecutors say Finazzo has claimed he was the victim of a “double standard” that wouldn’t apply to female nurses.

The Gardner-Edgerton district didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from The Star or The Associated Press.

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