Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kelly Lee this week issued an order giving four Atlanta Public Schools teachers who lost their jobs because of budget cuts at least 30 days to resolve a lawsuit the teachers have filed against the school system to keep their positions.
The four teachers – Gwendolyn Stokes, Constance Goodman, Andrea Dziengue and Aric Johnson – claim in a lawsuit filed Sept. 4 they were told by APS last May that their positions were being “abolished,” but they would be offered teaching contracts for the 2012-2013 school year.
The teachers were among the estimated 375 who lost their jobs when the APS Board in June slashed its annual budget by 10 percent, from $605 million down to $574.7 million. About 50 of those cut from the payroll were teachers.
According to the lawsuit filed by Atlanta attorney George Lawson Jr., APS told the teachers they could attend a “job fair” and interview for other teaching jobs. If they were not hired, APS told them they would be given “employment preference for six months for any positions that may be open or become open within APS,” according to the lawsuit.
In July APS told the teachers they would be “substitute teachers” without a permanent assignment, according to the suit. Even though the teachers applied for new jobs at APS for which they were qualified, APS instead hired teachers from outside the system to fill the vacancies, the suit claims.
The suit is asking that the teachers, three of whom have tenure and have worked for APS for more than 20 years, be given permanent teaching positions “based on tenure and other factors.” Lawson, who did not return repeated calls asking for comment, told Channel 2 Action News: “I would think there would have to be some extraordinary circumstances in order for them to have their contracts terminated.”
Goodman, Dziengue and Johnson could not be reached for comment. Stokes declined to comment. APS spokesman Keith Bromery responded in an email that he is “not in a position to comment on this impending legal matter or any aspects associated with it.”
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