Tuesday, Sept. 30, 1997 | 10:16 a.m.
Verna's lawsuit seeks $3 million in compensatory and punitive damages from the school district, Assistant Superintendent Edward Goldman and Burkholder Principal Diana Chalfant.
The dispute began in January 1995 when Verna called the Henderson Fire Department to complain that the overcrowding in her classroom prohibited a safe evacuation in the event of a fire.
Fire department officials agreed, giving the school a citation and demanding immediate action.
The classroom with a single door was designed for 32 students but had as many as 54 in a class, fire officials noted in their report.
Verna contends that Chalfant began retaliating against her for the complaint, racking up a series of reprimands and suspensions and two attempts to terminate her from the job she had held for three years.
In November 1995, Verna complained of the retaliation in a letter to school district Superintendent Brian Cram but he did not protect her, according to the lawsuit filed by attorneys Richard Segerblom and Al Gunderson.
The legal action contends that Cram also has failed to protect other teachers who have exercised their First Amendment rights and spoken out against work conditions or safety issues.
Goldman, assistant superintendent in charge of administrative operations and staff relations, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The latest attempt to fire Verna failed after arbitrator Paul Rothschild chastised Chalfant for her apparent vendetta.
"There is no question in this arbitrator's mind that the principal, from the date the fire department was called, was determined to get rid of Verna in any way she could," Rothschild stated.
"This hostility and prejudice casts a pall over everything that happened thereafter."
archive
