Four former North High School teachers and a secretary are headed toward a trial after a federal judge ruled Monday that former Denver Public Schools administrators may have violated their First Amendment rights.
The five former North High employees, all of whom now have other jobs in DPS, sued former Superintendent Jerry Wartgow, former North principal Offie Hobbs and the school board in 2003 after the five were transferred out of North.
The four teachers – Michael Sedillos, Bea Shepard, Roxanne Rhodes and Jennifer Werner – and secretary Cecelia Walters, allege that they were transferred as a retaliation and that their First Amendment rights were violated after they accused Hobbs of misusing public money, mistreating students and creating a hostile atmosphere.cq
Attorneys for Wartgow, Hobbs and the school board had filed for summary judgment on the issue of whether the teachers’ free-speech rights were infringed upon, a request that U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham denied.
Nottingham said in a 78-page ruling that the staff members’ First Amendment rights may have been violated and the transfers may have been retaliatory.
Barry Roseman, who is representing the former faculty members, said the decision to move forward to a trial could underscore a broader importance for free-speech rights in schools.
“They (other DPS teachers) were concerned that if they spoke up and raised concern at their school, they could be transferred to a different school all the way across town with no recourse,” Roseman said.
Mary Ellen McEldowney, legal counsel for the district, said the ruling is “one step in the process, but it’s not our practice to comment on pending legal matters.”
Shepard, who now works at George Washington High School, said she was happy.
“I’m feeling hopeful and pleased that we’re going to be able to get some of the facts out in court,” she said.
Staff writer Alicia Caldwell contributed to this report.
Staff writer Allison Sherry can be reached at 303-820-1377 or asherry@denverpost.com.
