John Freshwater fired for teaching creationism -- 900K cost to school system in 16K town

[Sgent]

http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/01/11/copy/district-pays-to-uphold-firing.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- Mount Vernon taxpayers will spend more than $900,000 for the process that determined whether an eighth-grade science teacher accused of melding religion and science should have been fired.

The Mount Vernon school district updated its costs yesterday, after a hearing referee submitted his opinion Friday that John Freshwater should be fired.

The five-member school board met last night and agreed in a 4-1 vote to accept that decision.

The lone no vote came from board member Steve Thompson, who was elected to the board after the original vote to terminate Freshwater was made unanimously in 2008. He is a longtime supporter of Freshwater's and helped to raise money for his legal defense.

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Something needs to be done. I support due process, but it shouldn't cost 900,000, take 2 1/2 years, etc. to fire someone. As a taxpayer this type of issue infuriates me.

I'm retracting the sentence below, but will leave it up so people know my original post. I was incorrect to bring unions into the situation.
I think this is why people get so upset with many education unions. This process took two years, cost the taxpayers 900,000, and accomplished what was an obvious decision to begin with.

[RainDog]

1. the union isn't the issue - it's the religious stupidity that's the problem

you should ask how many people believe the same sort of fairy tales where he lives. THEY are part of the problem. The religious nuts that insist on propagating stone age myths as reality are the problem.

[Sgent]

2. It was union rules

that allowed him to keep his benefits for 2 1/2 years after suspension.

It was union rules that cost the taxpayers of this small town 900,000 to fire him -- since they had to go to an administrative hearing that lasted over 30 days. It may go higher due to court appeals, etc.

I am in favor of unions in most cases, but I am an upset that 900,000 dollars had to be spent to fire an incompetent, insubordinate teacher.

[RainDog]

3. maybe the town shouldn't have hired him in the first place n/t

[DoBotherMe]

6. Where does it say that union rules cost the city $900,000?

The administrative hearing is a State Law.

The board voted unanimously in 2008 to terminate Freshwater. But under state law, teachers are entitled to an administrative hearing to defend themselves.

The process protects teachers and also discourages districts from keeping rogue teachers in less-sensitive positions.

And most of the money goes to lawyers

The largest component of the $902,765 bill that the Mount Vernon board must pay is to the school's attorney, David Millstone, a Cleveland lawyer with Squires Sanders and Dempsey who specializes in employment law. His firm will be paid at least $813,628.

[Kerrytravelers]

8. Spin it around.

What about a science teacher who was fired for not teaching creation in a very religious area? I'd want the union to step in.

The union protects teachers from undue firing and this is the process. This guy benefited from it, but I'd rather one benefit than many not.



*ETA: This was written before the OP edit.

[montanto]

10. When considering unions it is only fair to

also consider the positive things that they do, like protecting the remainder of the teachers from wrongful termination and other abuses that they would necessarily suffer without that protection. Unfortunately it is hard to put a dollar value on that. That said, and as a teacher, I agree that the "due process" part of union/school district discourse when teachers are accused of misdeeds needs to be sped up and focused. In my district (LAUSD) dealing with this type of problem falls into a gap between district policies and union policies, making it appear that the union is blocking the district's action when it is really that the district's policy isn't spelled out clearly enough, thus:

District: "were going to fire this guy for teaching creationism in a science class."

Union: "where does it say in the contract that a teacher can be fired for teaching creationism?"

District: "Uh . . . don't we all understand that you can't do that?"

Union: "Only if it is spelled out in the contract."

In this case the district and the union need to work together to create the structure and language for dealing with such occurrences. In the case of an actual crime, these things are much more rapidly resolved.

[Hamlette]

4. it has nothing to do with the union, it has to do with due process

[Ten Bears]

5. Nothing in the article says he was in the union

and teachers like that rarely are. It's not a union issue anyway, it's a due process issue.

[Sgent]

7. Your correct

and I was wrong. I edited the original post to indicate that.

[Ten Bears]

9. Well done.