By Ari Bloomekatz
Enquirer staff writer

Cincinnati public school officials said Thursday they will be watching the outcome of a criminal case against a substitute teacher to determine his future job status. Matthew Gardner, 33, is accused of secretly videotaping people at a swimming pool.

Police on Tuesday charged Gardner, a percussion teacher at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in downtown Cincinnati, with menacing by stalking.

Authorities said they found Gardner videotaping at the Brentwood Swim Club in Springfield Township after police received a call about a suspicious person. Similar videotaping had occurred several times within the last two months, police said.

"He has been charged, but he has not been convicted. But we will certainly be watching to see what the outcome of the case is," said Janet Walsh, spokeswoman for Cincinnati Public Schools.

Gardner began teaching as a long-term substitute in 2001 and does not have a contract with the school system.

Mark Brueggeman, a band director at the school, said he was shocked to hear Gardner had been charged.

"(He is a) good teacher, had a good balance of discipline, the whole bit,'' Brueggeman said. "Kids seemed to like him and respect him."

E-mail abloomekatz@enquirer.com