Posted on 03/15/2006 12:29:26 PM PST by DBeers
Members of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school board voted unanimously last night not to renew an employment contract with a teacher who had been accused of sexual misconduct with a student.
The decision effectively ends Susan Wiseman's teaching career in Forsyth County.
Wiseman, who was in her fourth year of teaching social studies at East Forsyth High School, will remain on leave of absence without pay through the end of the school year.
Wiseman agreed to surrender her teaching license, school-board officials said. The school board will also ask the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to permanently revoke her license over an allegation of violating an administrative regulation about prohibited relationships in the workplace, school officials said.
"It means that she will not be able to teach in North Carolina," Superintendent Don Martin said.
School systems in other states will also have access to the information that her license was revoked and the reason for the revocation.
Wiseman did not return a phone call asking for comment last night.
Wiseman was accused of sexual misconduct with a student in January after a 17-year-old student told school officials and police that she had a sexual relationship with the teacher.
Winston-Salem police investigated the accusations, but Wiseman was not charged with any crimes. The Forsyth County district attorney, Tom Keith, said that the student had decided that she didn't want to prosecute and that prosecutors didn't have any other evidence with which to bring charges.
Martin said that the homosexual nature of the accusations did not affect how the school system handled the situation.
Wiseman was suspended without pay on Feb. 1.
Wiseman was in her fourth year of teaching, so she was still working under a probationary contract. Teachers are tenured only after they have been hired for a fifth year. The board decided to allow her to take a leave of absence and then not renew her contract, instead of firing her, because of the due process rules that probationary teachers work under. Wiseman agreed to that arrangement, Martin said.
The case drew community-wide attention after Judge Lisa Menefee of Forsyth District Court signed a gag order that prevented the disclosure of where the accused teacher worked, her name and her employment status after the police began their investigation.
The order was overturned six days later, hours after the Winston-Salem Journal filed a motion asking the N.C. Court of Appeals to overturn the protective order. Menefee said that the motion had nothing to do with her decision.
The school system released Wiseman's name after Menefee lifted the gag order.
They knew this fact and punished her anyway, huh? Surprising.
I'm sure she'll get plenty of job offers at other govt. schools.
Is she hot?
Well, they got that problem licked.
Yep lifted the gag order and imposed the lick order.
Well then, nothing to see here.....
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