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District board fires Northwest Classen high school teacher Joseph Quigley
May 12, 2009 (The Oklahoman - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
An attorney for a Northwest Classen High School teacher said his client was singled out because he questioned authority and advocated for gay and lesbian students.
Board members voted Monday to dismiss English teacher Joseph Quigley, who has been with the district since 1994.
"This is personal. These last two years, he's been singled out, micromanaged and picked on," said Anthony DeGiusti, an attorney with the American Federation of Teachers.
An attorney for the school district, though, said, "He's been singled out because of his classroom performance."
DeGiusti said Quigley didn't start receiving bad evaluations until after he advocated adding the words "sexual orientation" to the discrimination policy in the district's student handbook in 2006. Attorneys for Quigley said he will file an appeal in Oklahoma County District Court.
Laura Holmes, attorney with the Center for Education Law representing the district, said the recommendation for termination came because Quigley showed "repeated negligence with respect to his duties." Quigley didn't adhere to directives regarding approval to show videos in class and send mass e-mails, didn't post grades properly, gave zeros for behavior and didn't follow his plan for improvement.
Board Chairman Angela Monson and member Wilfredo Santos Rivera voted against termination and Thelma Parks abstained. The remaining board members voted for termination.
Contract approved
The board approved a one-year, $1.35 million contract with Sodexo for management services for the district's maintenance division. Employees asked board members to let them take over management of their own department, but board members opted to enter a new contract with Sodexo after 10 years of management services with Aramark Education Services.
The board instructed Superintendent Karl Springer to come back in six months with a report on the feasibility of converting to in-house management for maintenance.
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