Teacher, Greater Clark County Schools settle suit

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May 11, 2012

Teacher, Greater Clark County Schools settle suit

Kelly Short awarded $40,000

By JEROD CLAPP jerod.clapp@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Fri May 11, 2012, 08:36 AM EDT

JEFFERSONVILLE — Greater Clark County Schools reached a $40,000 lawsuit settlement with a former newspaper and yearbook adviser at Jeffersonville High School late last month.

Kelly Short, who advised the Topic and the Hyphen at JHS, won the settlement April 17. Other terms of the settlement included her resignation from her job April 17, waiving her rights to bring other suits related to the one she filed in January and to remove her personnel file from the district’s preliminary notice of her contract.

Martin Bell, chief operating officer for the district, said he wouldn’t comment on the suit or the settlement, other than to say the financial impact of the settlement was “virtually none” on the school corporation’s now-balanced budget.

“Insurance is picking up most of the costs involved in that,” Bell said. “Through other cost savings, we’re covering the deductible.”

Stephen Daeschner, superintendent, and Kevin Satterly, board member, did not return phone calls for comment before press time. Short and Christina Gilkey, board president, refused comment.

Short filed a lawsuit against the district in January, alleging her First Amendment rights were violated along with Fifth and 14th Amendment rights. The district suspended her with pay Nov. 9, 2011 pending an investigation against her. She was recommended for termination Jan. 13 with the district citing “immorality, insubordination and neglect of duty,” according to Laura Ladenwich, one of her attorneys.

In July of 2011, Short received two letters of directives from JHS principal James Sexton, which included review of both the newspaper and yearbook by himself or another school administrator before they went to print for content that was “ungrammatical, poorly written, inadequately researched, biased or prejudiced, vulgar or profane, or unsuitable for immature audiences.”

He also said in those letters that the Hyphen could not be considered an “open forum for students, faculty or community members associated with Jeffersonville High School” nor a “forum for public expression” because the class that produced it was taken for credit.