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Band teachers’ suit dismissed

By Bill Rankin
April 11, 2013

The federal appeals court in Atlanta has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by 10 former elementary school orchestra and band teachers who claimed the Fulton County School District violated their rights during a reduction in force.

The teachers lost their jobs at a time when the school district faced a $140 million budget shortfall, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a unanimous decision. The plaintiffs’ teaching contracts were not renewed by the county’s Board of Education in the spring of 2010.

About the Author

Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.

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