Tue, May 13 2008
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A teacher accused of insubordination after she disobeyed orders not to use a racially-themed book in her classroom could receive a yearlong suspension without pay.
Connie Heermann, 50, could have lost her job at Perry Meridian High School, but officials Monday decided that was taking punishment too far.
“There was insubordination,” said Perry Township School Board member Steve Maple, who proposed that administrators’ recommendation to fire Heermann be reduced. “(But) I think the penalty of canceling the contract exceeded the violation.”
Instead, the school board voted 7-0 to offer Heermann the option of serving an unpaid suspension through the end of the 2008-09 school year.
Heermann, who has 27 years of teaching experience, said she will discuss her options with her husband and others before deciding what to do. She said that she cannot do without income until the fall of 2009.
“I don’t think I am actually going to sit back and do nothing for a year and a half, but to jump into any rash decisions is certainly not what we’re going to do at this time, either,” she said.
Heermann was placed on administrative leave in November after continuing to use the “Freedom Writers Diary” despite a supervisor’s order that she stop using it in her classroom. Heermann has not publicly disputed those facts.
The “Freedom Writers Diary” contains racial slurs and some sexual content, and encourages students to write about their experiences and reach out to students of different backgrounds.
Earlier this month, the board heard testimony from school officials arguing for Heermann’s dismissal and from Heermann and supporters, including Erin Gruwell, the California teacher whose students wrote “The Freedom Writers Diary” as part of a classroom project.
A proposed settlement was scuttled after board members reportedly became irritated at Heermann’s comments to reporters.
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