Conflicts of Interest During School Hours: LifeWise Academy's Systemic RTRI Issues
How one Ohio School District Exposed Larger Questions About LifeWise Academy’s Ethics, Oversight, and Political Ties
Controversies at the local LifeWise Tri-County North (TCN) program in Lewisburg, Ohio provide a microcosm of the greater macrocosm of LifeWise Academy. The TCN case highlights a range of reported concerns — including potential conflicts of interest, labor disputes, and political associations — suggesting the need for broader, nationwide scrutiny of LifeWise’s operations and oversight practices.
LifeWise Academy is a nonprofit organization that provides release-time religious instruction (RTRI) “during school hours” to public school children. While permitted under federal law, LifeWise’s programming has raised ongoing questions about oversight, church–state boundaries, and transparency in their implementation.
Married Conflict of Interest: TCN School Board Member and TCN LifeWise Program Director
Larry Seibel is a member of the Tri-County North (TCN) school board which approved the TCN LifeWise program where his wife, Jan Seibel, serves as the paid program director.
As a long-serving member of the TCN school board—having held leadership positions such as board president in 1999 and vice president in 2025—Larry Seibel’s participation in approving the TCN LifeWise program raises a significant conflict of interest, given that his wife, Jan Seibel, was employed as the program’s paid director.
The Ohio ethics statute prohibits state employees and public officers from using their positions for personal gain:
No public official or employee shall use or authorize the use of the authority or influence of office or employment to secure anything of value or the promise or offer of anything of value that is of such a character as to manifest a substantial and improper influence upon the public official or employee with respect to that person’s duties.
Larry Seibel’s vote as a school board member to approve a LifeWise program at which his wife was employed appears inconsistent with the intent of Ohio’s ethics statute prohibiting the use of public office for private benefit.
Political Ties: TCN LifeWise Director’s Association with Rep. Rodney Creech Accused of Sexual Misconduct
LifeWise TCN director, Jan Seibel, has documented ties with Ohio Rep. Rodney Creech of District 40.
In an undated text message provided to LifeWise Exposed, Siebel speaks of her and her husband Larry Seibel socializing with Creech in an effort to promote LifeWise.
“My husband and I have a meeting here at 8am to educate Rodney Creech on LifeWise. He supports it but he has had others voice their disapproval. I invited him here, instead of the Bistro, because they both talk loudly, lol, and I’m hoping to make him into an informed advocate!”
Creech was investigated in 2025 after a minor alleged that, in 2023, he touched them inappropriately and climbed into their bed wearing only underwear with an erection. Creech has denied the allegations and was not charged following the investigation.
An investigation was opened following the teen speaking to the child advocacy group CARE House of Montgomery County, after which the Preble County sheriff requested assistance from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation of Ohio.
Per the Columbus Dispatch:
Preble County Sheriff Michael Simpson became aware of the allegations two months later but never produced a report or interviewed Creech or the teen, BCI investigators found. Preble County prosecutors declined to file charges after the case was presented to them with no investigation. Simpson admitted to a conflict of interest and said he’d ask another sheriff’s office to investigate, but he never did.
While under investigation, Creech was removed from leadership at the request of House Speaker Matt Huffman.
In July 2024, Creech attended and spoke at the TCN LifeWise program open house at the Lewisburg Baptist Church.
While Creech was not charged, the allegations raised against him prompted public concern. Jan Seibel’s outreach to him illustrates how LifeWise directors may engage politically to promote programs locally in communities.
The Rachel Snell TCN Labor Dispute and LifeWise’s “Ministerial Exception” Appeal to the Supreme Court of Ohio
Perhaps the most significant LifeWise TCN controversy involves former LifeWise employee Rachel Snell who began working at the program in June 2024. Snell alleged she was asked by her supervisor, LifeWise TCN program director Jan Seibel, to falsify her timesheets and work off the clock. When she refused, Snell claims she was pushed out and replaced with a younger employee who would work for free.
Snell filed a civil rights complaint with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC), alleging age discrimination and unlawful labor practices. LifeWise responded by seeking protection under the “ministerial exception” in an appeal to the Supreme Court of Ohio to be exempt from OCRC jurisdiction. Ministerial exception is a legal doctrine shielding religious groups from some employment and civil rights laws. LifeWise argued that Snell was a “minister” in her job function as a lead teacher at the TCN LifeWise program.
In October 2025, the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed the case as moot after Snell withdrew her OCRC complaint and OCRC granted her the right to sue LifeWise. Snell has stated she intends to pursue LifeWise for labor violations and defamation, warning that if LifeWise had prevailed, it would have potentially set a precedent allowing any religious-affiliated employer to evade employee rights protections.
Via WOSU Public Media:
“I’m almost thankful that this happened to open my eyes a little bit, because I had been really fooled by LifeWise and thought that my personal goal of serving the children in my community was what LifeWise was aligned with,” Snell said. “And then I realized, ‘oh wow LifeWise is aligned with making money for LifeWise.’”
TCN LifeWise Employee Extremist Rhetoric: “…Sold into the slavery of the public school system”
First reported by Respect Public Schools, in August 2025 the LifeWise TCN program hired Lilly Hobbs as a program teacher. Hobbs’ announcement post notes she also co-runs the ministry project The Few.
In The Few’s September 22, 2025 podcast, Hobbs says:
“We have been sold into the slavery of the public school system, we have been taught to despise our parents.”
In January 2023 The Few recorded an episode of their A Few Minutes with The Few podcast entitled How The Public Education System Is Destroying The Soul Of America, and in May 2023 stated:
“The public schools are not going to raise up a generation that will stand for truth and righteousness. No! In fact, it should be clear to all of us that the schools have completely given in to evil at this point."
“Speaking of schools…What if mothers became outraged enough by the evil indoctrination pushed onto our children by the public school system that we made the necessary sacrifices to educate our children at home?”
Such statements have raised questions about whether LifeWise instructors can maintain neutrality when engaging public school students at LifeWise programs.
Operation Misrepresentation: LifeWise is Solely “During School Hours” (Except After School at the Eaton, Ohio LifeWise Program)
Although LifeWise states its programs operate solely “during school hours,” documentation shows the Eaton, OH program previously operated after school. Prior to working at the TCN LifeWise program, Snell volunteered at the LifeWise Eaton program from 2023 to 2024.
While the LifeWise Eaton, Ohio after school program began in September 2021, LifeWise’s pilot RTRI program in Van Wert, Ohio had begun almost a full decade earlier in 2012 operating under its original name of Cross Over the Hill.
Of the Eaton, Ohio LifeWise program, LifeWise CEO Joel Penton stated:
“Eaton was an experimental program which helped us develop the model we have today... We do not have any before or after school programs.”
The LifeWise Eaton program ceased operating as an after school program in April 2024; September 2025 it was announced LifeWise Eaton would return as an RTRI program held during school hours.
Conclusion
The Tri-County North LifeWise Academy case raises questions about governance, transparency, and ethical safeguards within LifeWise’s RTRI operations. Public records and official statements may suggest that overlapping personal and institutional relationships hinder accountability when religious groups operate during public school hours.
As LifeWise expands nationwide, clearer conflict of interest standards and stronger oversight may be needed to ensure programs remain transparent, lawful, and respectful of church–state boundaries in relation to public schools and public dollars.
As of 2025, LifeWise operates adjacent to more than 1,000 schools; for the 2025-2026 school year LifeWise is projected to provide bible education during school hours to nearly 100,000 students in 34 states.
Wow. Powerful piece. Very well written. When I was handing out brochuresv in front of the OSBA conference last year, I was rebuffed by several school board members whose children attend LifeWise. While that might not be sufficient entanglement to call for abstention on LW issues that come before school boards, just that I've been wondering about conflicts of interest ever since. Thank you for this. Wonder how many more school board members have a financial interest in the program.