KY principal reassigned after students protested handling of teacher sex misconduct

The principal at Rowan County Senior High School was reassigned to other duties outside the school Wednesday following student protests calling for his resignation.

On Thursday morning, Rowan County Superintendent Michael Rowe provided the Herald-Leader the email he sent Rowan County “stakeholders” at 4 p.m. Wednesday announcing Jordan Mann’s reassignment.

Students walked out of Rowan County High School Tuesday and Wednesday in protest after court filings revealed a new round of sexual misconduct allegations against the school’s former girls soccer coach, Andrew Zaheri.

Zaheri is serving more than 20 years in federal prison for sexually abusing a minor, and Mann has been accused in a separate, civil lawsuit of failing to act on multiple complaints about Zaheri’s behavior.

Students chanted, “No more Mann!” as they walked out of class this week.

In Rowe’s email to “stakeholders” Wednesday, he wrote: “I am writing to inform you that Principal Jordan Mann has been reassigned to other duties outside Rowan County Senior High School for the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year.”

An acting principal will be named shortly, Rowe said in the email.

“Our top priority is to maintain a safe, peaceful, and positive environment at Rowan County Senior High School — one that supports student success both academically and socially. As we look forward to a fun and memorable prom and a well-earned graduation, we are focused on making sure these important milestones are celebrated without distraction,” said Rowe.

Due to personnel privacy laws, the district cannot provide further information, Rowan said.

Zaheri was charged in May 2023 charged with rape, sodomy and child pornography involving students. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison in federal court for a sex abuse charge involving a minor, and he was sentenced last year to five years on state charges including third-degree rape and sodomy.

In a December 2024 deposition in the civil suit, made public April 22, a student testified Zaheri and a student came out of a locker room “sweaty as can be” with layers of clothes shed, more than two years ago.

The witness testified Zaheri put flowers on a girl’s car after practice and held hands with students out in public.

The student and a friend reported their concerns to Rob Ginter, the school’s vice principal, who said he would “take care of it,” according to the transcript.

“You know, (Ginter) didn’t seem super-enthused,” the transcript reads. “He was just kind of there. We told him what we saw, what we’ve heard, and we told him that we do believe that there is something sexual going on there.”

The witness testified she also went to Mann weeks later with her concerns, and Mann “didn’t have much to say.”

Another exhibit filed last week shows text exchanges between Mann and Zaheri where they refer to sex toys and a “smash list” during a professional development training in August 2022.

“You have quite the smash list in this room,” Mann wrote — a reference to desires for casual sex.

In May 2023, Jane Doe filed the lawsuit against the Rowan County Board of Education, Mann and John Maxey, the former superintendent of the district. Maxey resigned in late 2023.

Also named in the suit was Zaheri, the former coach and teacher, who was indicted on more than 23 felony counts of sexually abusing a student. Those charged included multiple counts of rape, sodomy and promoting a sexual performance of a minor.

The Lexington Herald-Leader does not typically identify victims of sexual abuse.

The lawsuit alleges Mann and Maxey had received several reports about Zaheri’s behavior toward Jane Doe but failed to fully investigate them or notify Jane Doe’s parents. A high school guidance counselor eventually notified authorities, which led to Zaheri’s arrest.

In a joint statement from attorneys representing the victim of the civil suit, they said the Rowan County Board of Education continues to fail children like their client.

The attorneys also shared concern regarding Rowe’s statement issued Tuesday about the protest, noting it failed to “address the issues that prompted their actions.”

The apparent unwillingness to engage with the legitimate safety concerns of students continues a troubling pattern of administrative avoidance,” they said. The lawsuit is pending in Rowan County Circuit Court.

This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 7:36 AM.