OMAHA - The Omaha school board has fired a 39-year-old teacher accused of taking two eighth-grade students outside a school building and encouraging them to resolve their dispute by fighting.
The board voted 11-1 Wednesday to dismiss Patrick Kocsis, who has been on paid leave since Aug. 22.
Kocsis declined to comment after the board meeting.
Kocsis also has been cited by police on two counts of misdemeanor child neglect for the incident at McMillan Magnet Center middle school.
A district spokeswoman has said she didn’t know what started the disagreement that began in Kocsis’ science classroom.
Felisa Evans, mother of 14-year-old Micah, said her son told her he couldn’t remember what the dispute was about.
Kocsis led the boys out of the class, Evans said, telling the boys they were going to settle their dispute his way.
According to Evans, when the three of them got outside, Kocsis said the boys would have to “slap it out.’’
After Kocsis assured them he was serious, the boys flailed away and grappled for about 20 minutes, Evans said.
The fight was broken up when the principal and a security officer arrived. A police report said the incident was recorded by a school security camera.
Kocsis worked at McMillan for nine years.
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