Termination recommended for JHS teacher

Clark County

Discussion

January 14, 2012

Kelly Short’s attorneys request meeting with superintendent

By SHEA VAN HOY shea.vanhoy@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Sat Jan 14, 2012, 10:20 AM EST

JEFFERSONVILLE — Termination has been recommended for Kelly Short, a suspended Jeffersonville High School journalism teacher and adviser, her attorney said Friday.

Laura Landenwich, who is representing Short along with attorney Dan Canon, said Short received the letter recommending her firing Tuesday from JHS Principal James Sexton. Landenwich said Friday she requested a meeting with Stephen Daeschner, superintendent of Greater Clark County Schools, to appeal the recommendation for termination, and that Daeschner has 10 days to schedule the meeting.

She said they have been given the reasons for the termination recommendation — immorality, insubordination and neglect of duty — but not the evidence behind those allegations.

“Since we don’t have any evidence, our hands are tied, really, to substantively address what the allegations are,” Landenwich said. “We believe Miss Short has at all times been a superb teacher and fulfilled her duties fully.”

The school corporation has had little comment on Short’s employment, other than confirming her suspension.

“With an investigation still taking place and litigation filed, the corporation has no comment regarding Kelly Short,” Erin Bojorquez, supervisor of communications for Greater Clark, wrote in an email Friday afternoon.

Short, who has been suspended with pay since Nov. 9, has filed a lawsuit against Greater Clark, Sexton and Daeschner in U.S. District Court. She has been employed at JHS since 1994, primarily working as a journalism teacher. She has also been a longtime adviser for the school’s student newspaper, the Hyphen, and yearbook, the Topic.

Short claims the school corporation and principal violated a federal law protecting her right to free speech and Indiana’s whistleblower statute. She also claims that the defendants caused adverse action in violation of public policy due to her refusal to enforce “illegal and/or unconstitutional policies in her classroom.” She requests compensatory and punitive damages, claiming she has suffered embarrassment, humiliation, emotional distress and mental anguish. The school corporation has 20 days to respond to the suit, which was filed Jan. 4.

Landenwich said she and Short met with school officials Tuesday — the day the recommendation for termination was given — at which a summary of the investigation was presented. Short’s legal counsel requested evidence of those allegations at the time, but that was declined.

Landenwich said Daeschner could overturn the recommendation for termination or concur with it. If the latter happens, Short and her attorneys can request a meeting on the matter with the school board. After that request, they are required to be provided with the evidence, Landenwich said.

“They are making some pretty outrageous allegations,” she said. “Surely they have something to support it. I don’t understand why that hasn’t been turned over so we can hash this out with full disclosure. They are just meeting the minimum statutory requirements.”

THE BACKSTORY

Canon said in a previous article that Short was provided with several reasons for the investigation. Canon said one allegation was that Short threatened to suspend a student in her 2008 yearbook class if the student did not raise enough funds. Short denies those claims.

According to the lawsuit, students published a story in The Hyphen in early 2011 regarding the placement and cost of security cameras in the school. At the end of the school year, Sexton added a new requirement that any future edition of the newspaper or yearbook must be reviewed by an administrator, and Short claims that directive was in response to the newspaper article. According to the lawsuit, Sexton also threatened to reassign Short if she did not submit the paper to him for review before publication.

On July 18, Sexton wrote a letter to Short with a new requirement that he or a designated administrator must review the newspaper and yearbook prior to publication. He stated in a letter, which is provided in the court documents, that future editions would be reviewed for work that is “ungrammatical, poorly written, inadequately researched, biased or prejudiced, vulgar or profane, or unsuitable for immature audiences.”

Sexton further wrote that the Hyphen cannot be considered a “forum for public expression” or an “open forum for students, faculty or community members associated with Jeffersonville High School” since it is produced in a journalism class for credit.

Short wrote letters to Daeschner, the school board president, assistant superintendent and school board general counsel opposing the new policy.