Former choir director and ‘teacher of the year’ charged with sex crimes against teen

OLATHE — A former teacher of the year for a northeast Kansas school district has been charged with sex crimes against a teenager.

Two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy were filed Tuesday against 45-year-old Todd Burd, of Gardner. Bond is set at $250,000. No attorney is listed for him in online court records. Court documents say the nonconsensual sexual acts are alleged to have occurred last fall with a 15- or 16-year-old.

Burd was a choir director and vocal teacher at Gardner Edgerton High School, but is not currently an employee. He received Gardner-Edgerton district’s Teacher of the Year honor in 2015.