A teacher who says the Eastern School District didn’t help her resolve problems with the parents of a special needs student in her class has filed a lawsuit against her employer.
E. Jo-Anne Lanigan, who filed an initial statement of claim in December and amended it February, is seeking damages from the district for its refusal to consider her application for a job at the vice-principal lever or as a guidance counselor.
In her original statement of claim Lanigan was seeking re-instatement as an administrator at the vice-principal level, along with other damages that weren’t included in the amended claim.
The district refuted Lanigan’s claims.
Lanigan was a former vice-principal and teacher at Dundas Consolidated School until it was closed.
She joined the staff at Donagh Regional School in 2009 as a vice-principal and teacher.
Lanigan alleged the school’s principal didn’t give administrative time for her to perform her duties and didn’t assign her any specific administrative duties.
Early in the year, Lanigan was assigned a special needs student and had an educational assistant to help with his educational needs.
Lanigan alleged she and other teaching staff had concerns about the educational assistant’s behaviour with the special needs student, but the principal didn’t do anything about it.
In her statement of claim, Lanigan alleged the student’s parents became involved after concerns about the quality of care the student received in the classroom.
She claimed the situation became more hostile with the parents challenging Lanigan’s integrity and competence in numerous incidents at the school, the district office and within the community, all without any initial intervention from the district.
Lanigan claimed the district eventually intervened, but it wasn’t objective or designed to help her, all of which was a breach of her employment rights.
The district later conducted an investigation, which Lanigan claimed led to her unjust removal as vice-principal.
Lanigan has since taken a job as a teacher in Stratford.
In her claim, Lanigan said she applied for several jobs with the district, but the administration told her she wouldn’t be hired because of the issues at Donagh Regional School.
The district filed its statement of defence March 30 in which it claimed some parents contacted the school’s principal about concerns over Lanigan’s teaching methods and absences from the classroom to deal with her vice-principal duties.
In the claim, the district said the principal made it clear to Lanigan her main duty was to be in the classroom, but she didn’t always follow the principal’s recommendations.
At no time did the principal refuse to help Lanigan, the district said.
The district alleged Lanigan sent the special needs student’s parents a letter asking them to retract comments they made in a letter they sent her.
A second letter went to the parents a few days later saying Lanigan had retained legal counsel and was ready to rectify the issue by “more formal mean.”
The district claimed it didn’t know about Lanigan’s letters and neither did the principal, but when it found out, the district started its investigation.
A disciplinary letter went in Lanigan’s file, which the district said she could have filed a grievance over, but didn’t.
Lanigan took a leave of absence and in her reply to the statement of defence, she said she required medical attention for depression because she was “emotionally and physically devastated.”
The district acknowledged Lanigan applied for guidance counselor positions and said she wasn’t successful based on how she performed in the interview process.
None of the claims from either party have been proven in court and both sides are seeking costs associated with the case.
