It’s understandable that schools have zero tolerance for certain kinds of inappropriate behavior. But damaging a teacher’s reputation over something in which no students were harmed seems severe.

According to a Sept. 19 article in the Leader-Telegram, Mark A. Stanley, a Memorial High School teacher, resigned after a routine check on computer use found that he had engaged in conversations about sex on school computers. Administrators took the matter to the county Department of Human Services and the police.

According to the article, no Memorial students were involved in the chats, and investigators found no proof on school or home computers that Stanley had chatted with minors. He was not looking at pornography.

While Stanley’s behavior warranted disciplinary action, and probably even termination under district policy, the nature of his leaving the district should have been kept a more private matter.

In and of itself, talking about sex in chat rooms with people who are, as the evidence indicates, of age and fully consenting does not bar Stanley from being a good teacher. But now that the incident has been made public, he faces a loss of credibility in all future teaching jobs.

That being said, Stanley’s main transgression was inappropriate use of school computers, a matter the district should have dealt with without outside intervention.

The article also stated that Stanley said, in his defense, that he engaged in the chats because of side effects he suffered while taking the medicine Prednisone for blood vessel inflammation. He should not have hidden behind the drug to shift the responsibility for his actions.

Stanley acted inappropriately and faced the consequences. But it is a shame that an incident that did not endanger students or affect his teaching will follow him forever.