A downsized veteran music teacher who sued the Fulton County school board and the state charging that his contract was unfairly canceled recently won his civil court case.
Fulton County Superior Court judge Kelly A. Lee last week ruled in favor of teacher Don Lee, 50, an educator for 24 years.
According to the ruling, when Fulton Schools faced budget shortfalls in March 2010, Lee was laid off without being evaluated by the same criteria as other teachers including those who retained their jobs. Most teachers were reviewed using a 5-step analysis of their tenure and job performance. Elementary school music teachers who were laid off when the district cut the locally funded Elementary Instrumental Music Teachers program were not renewed without consideration of performance and tenure, the court document said.
The Superior Court ruling overturns the decision of the Fulton County school board and the state Board of Education upholding Lee’s contract termination. It compels the Fulton County school board to apply the same evaluation criteria to Lee as it did to other teachers in the reduction of force.
“There was no rational basis for treating these teachers any differently than any of the other teachers or employees,” said Lee’s Atlanta attorney Kristine Brown. She said Lee’s “due process and equal protection rights were violated ... We would contend that he is entitled to back pay and a contract.”
Fulton County Schools’ spokeswoman Susan Hale said the district’s attorney only recently received the ruling and has not advised the school board how to proceed. "The teachers were not fired – their positions were reduced because of the elimination of the elementary music program," she said.
Lee, 50, who is married and has a 22-year-old son in college, could not be reached for comment. He worked for Fulton Schools for 15 years. Since Lee left Fulton Schools, he has been working part-time teaching at a private school and operating an after school band program.
Brown said she will be working with the district on Lee's behalf to get his job back. She said she was unaware of the status of the more than 50 other elementary music program teachers whose contracts were also non-renewed. They did not join the lawsuit, she said.
“It’s not easy for a lone citizen to question the government,” Brown said. “It’s nice to see this result.”
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