LOGAN, Ohio – A choir and music teacher in the Logan-Hocking school district accused of inappropriate relationships with students received a check for $30,000 to go away.

The payout comes 11 months after teacher Matthew J. Schetter was placed on paid administrative leave as district officials investigated student reports that their teacher touched and rubbed them inappropriately, and allowed students to sit on his lap and backside, according to the Logan Daily.

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“On July 21, Schetter was mailed a notice of charges against him that could lead to suspension without pay and termination of his contract,” the news site reports.

“Altogether there were 35 allegations including: touching and/or rubbing on the buttocks, waist, legs, thighs, shoulders and/or other areas of the bodies of one or more students; hugging students; allowing one or more students to sit on his lap; allowing a student to sit on his back or buttocks when he was lying on his stomach; engaging in conduct that constituted sexual harassment; and kissing one or more students on the head.”

Schetter taught music and choir in the district’s middle and high schools.

District officials filed misconduct charges against the teacher on April 28, 2015, and alerted Hocking County Children Services and the Logan Police Department. Logan Police then contacted the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, though officials with the agencies would not confirm if investigations are ongoing.

Logan-Hocking officials told the Columbus Dispatch the Ohio Department of Education’s Office of Professional Conduct is reviewing Schetter’s case.

In the meantime, district officials decided to pay the teacher $30,000 to go away as part of an agreement in August that allowed Schetter to resign, rather than face expensive termination proceedings.

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Logan-Hocking superintendent Christy Bosch told the Dispatch Friday that the district decided to payoff Schetter to remove him from the district immediately, a process that’s much less expensive than the state’s termination process, which could have cost the district up to $100,000 in legal fees.

“Ultimately our goal is to remove the employee, keep our kids safe and do it in the most efficient and cost-effective way because we are using taxpayer dollars,” Bosch said.

Schetter has denied any wrongdoing. He told the Logan Daily he’s now in counseling and taking medications to deal with his situation. Schetter claims he was never given an opportunity to defend himself during the district’s investigation, and noted his personnel file contains to previous complaints or issues.

“They (meaning the school district) said if I resigned it would be better for everybody,” Schetter added. “I didn’t know what I was accused of until the end of July. The original accusation was about a single student who vehemently denied it immediately, but I didn’t have a chance to deny it because I was never asked.

“I put my faith in a system, not only the school but the educational system and I feel I was let down,” he said. “I’ve worked for 10 principals in my 10 years of teaching and not one person has given me a bad evaluation.”

Schetter contends his name has been unnecessarily tarnished.

“First, I need my name back,” he said, adding that he was never been contacted by any investigators. “I need people to know that I didn’t do anything. I don’t fault the person who accused me if she truly thought there was something going on. I don’t blame the school for doing their due-diligence in investigating, but why was I never asked to defend myself?

“If my hugging kids made them feel uncomfortable, I’m sorry, but I never physically grabbed someone and said come here.”

Schetter said he decided to take the payout in part because the district agreed not to contest his claim for unemployment.

“I didn’t really have a choice,” Schetter told the Logan Daily. “I was not going back. They were offering me money and a promise that they would not deny my unemployment. Without unemployment I would have lost my house.”

Bosch said other important factors also went into the district’s decision to pay Schetter to go away.

“The district works hard to protect students,” she said, “and the resignation agreement avoided students having to testify” during hearings and appeals.