Accountability From A Jury

As a former superintendent I find myself drawn to personnel cases that make the news. Always having a strong belief that a school district was only as good as the people working in it, I have been a firm advocate for accountability at all levels. Students deserve good teachers and good teachers deserve great leaders. Most importantly all personnel deserve a safe and professional working environment.

Difficult Situation in Boothbay
A small town school district on the coast of Maine is struggling with a lawsuit that gets to the core of accountability. The Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor Consolidated School District has been embroiled in a lawsuit with a former teacher Fred Lewis.

The lawsuit centers upon the actions of administrators when they learned that Lewis was alleged to be involved in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student. Once school officials learned of the allegations, Lewis was placed on paid administrative leave while local police investigated allegations that included sexual misconduct with a minor and trespassing.

The following day, December 15th, police officials realized that a mistake had been made – the charges had been brought against the wrong person. The alleged perpetrator had the same last name and was in fact a district employee. However, it was not Fred Lewis. The following Monday, December 17th, the police informed school department officials of the error.

Later that week, school officials met with Lewis but did not mention the error. On December 20th, Lewis resigned his position after 23 years with the school department.

Forced Premature Resignation
Lewis brought suit regarding the wrongful sexual misconduct charges and a forced premature resignation from the school district. The jury ruling sided with the plaintiff, finding against the police chief, the school superintendent, the principal of the school, and the school department.

The greatest summary judgment was against the school district, $245,000, with findings that “the CSD acted with wanton or oppressive conduct, or committed acts motivated by ill will, bad faith, or improper motive.” Each of the individuals was assessed compensatory damages ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.

Proper, Then Improper Actions
Despite the colossal mistake made by the police department, the school district initially acted as it should. Placing the teacher on paid administrative leave was the absolutely proper thing to do when school officials first learned of the accusations. The school department’s first priority must always be the safety of the students in the school district.

But when officials learned of the error, it was a major ethical violation not to have informed Lewis, regardless of his past behavior, his ability to teach students, or his handling of the issue at hand. It is inexplicable that school officials left a false accusation of sexual misconduct hanging.

Now a school district and its respective school officials are paying the price for a severe ethical lapse, monetarily and in public perception.