Orange school officials have filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit from Marylin Zuniga, who was fired in May for allowing her third-grade students to write "get well" letters to Mumia Abu-Jamal Watch video
NEWARK -- Orange school officials are asking a Superior Court judge to throw out a lawsuit against them from a former teacher who was fired for allowing her third-grade students to write "get well" letters to a convicted cop killer.
The case centers on how Orange school board members voted at a public meeting in May to terminate Marylin Zuniga's non-tenured employment without discussing the matter amongst themselves or with members of the public.
In their motion to dismiss Zuniga's lawsuit, school officials contend they were not obligated to have such a discussion before casting their votes, and said they "properly voted" to terminate her employment.
"The mere fact that the Board after listening to the Plaintiff and her supporters had no dialogue before voting, denied her nothing," according to a brief filed with the court by the school board's attorneys in support of the motion.
"The board is under no affirmative duty to engage in dialogue either with the Plaintiff, her supporters or each other, before voting on the subject resolution," the brief states.
But Zuniga's attorneys allege the absence of that public dialogue suggests board members discussed her case privately in violation of the state's Open Public Meetings Act. Zuniga had requested that the matter be discussed publicly, court documents state.
"Indeed, beyond merely suggesting an unlawful private meeting, Plaintiffs' allegations lead to the plausible, even compelling, inference that the Board privately discussed these matters in violation of the OPMA," according to a brief filed by Zuniga's attorneys.
Ronald Hunt, an attorney representing the school board in the lawsuit, rejected that allegation about a private meeting by board members.
"I have no proof or evidence that that occurred," Hunt said on Friday in a phone interview. "They can make whatever allegations they want."
Before the board voted to terminate Zuniga's employment, Hunt said a private meeting was held in an attempt to resolve the matter. Attendees at that meeting included the superintendent, the board attorney, Zuniga and her representatives, but no board members were present, according to Hunt.
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In her lawsuit, Zuniga is asking Superior Court Judge Stephanie Mitterhoff to declare the board's decision "null and void." Zuniga and Orange resident Fakhair Spence are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and the school board and the city are named as the defendants.
A hearing on the school board's motion is scheduled for Nov. 20.
Chigozie Onyema, an attorney representing Zuniga and Spence in the lawsuit, declined to comment on Friday.
Zuniga began working at Forest Street Elementary School in September 2014, representing her first teaching job since receiving a master's degree at Columbia University.
The legal battle stems from how Zuniga allegedly permitted her students in April to write "get well" letters to Mumia Abu-Jamal. About two months beforehand, Zuniga said she used a quote from Abu-Jamal as part of an assignment.
Abu-Jamal, who was formerly on death row, is serving a life sentence for killing Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. Abu-Jamal has suffered from complications related to diabetes.
According to Zuniga, she allowed the students to write the letters after she told them about Abu-Jamal's failing health in April and they said they would like to write "get well" letters to him.
After learning about the students' letters through news reports, school officials suspended Zuniga with pay on April 10. At the time, officials said they had no prior knowledge about the letters, and said Zuniga did not seek prior approval or notify parents about this "unauthorized activity."
Following her suspension, Zuniga told school officials she wanted a public discussion about her case, according to the lawsuit.
At two subsequent school board meetings, Zuniga and her supporters addressed the board, but board members did not publicly discuss her employment status, the lawsuit states. Spence attended both meetings, the lawsuit states.
When the first meeting occurred on April 14, Zuniga and others addressed the board, and board members then met in closed session for about 40 minutes. After board members returned to the public meeting, then-school board attorney Melvin Randall said the matter would be tabled.
At the second meeting on May 12, Zuniga addressed the board, followed by members of the public who mostly spoke in her favor.
Soon after the public comments were finished after midnight on May 13, board members unanimously approved a personnel agenda and abruptly adjourned the meeting without discussing or explaining what they just voted on.
Later that day, after being contacted by a reporter, Orange Superintendent Ronald Lee confirmed in an email that the board had voted to terminate Zuniga's employment as part of the personnel agenda.
In a May 13 letter to Zuniga, Lee said the board voted to terminate her employment due to her "non-compliance" with board policies and "your unprofessional conduct." The letter indicated Zuniga would remain suspended with pay until June 11, when her termination would take effect.
The letter was one of the exhibits filed along with the board's motion.
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In court documents, Orange school officials note that a local school board has "virtually unlimited discretion in hiring, firing or renewing non-tenured teachers."
The documents assert the Orange school board afforded Zuniga "all rights she was entitled to as a non-tenured teacher and properly voted to terminate her service."
"The Board submits that this Plaintiff was given more than she was entitled to in that she was afforded two separate dates (April 14, 2015 and May 12, 2015) to address the Board in public with the assistance of 20 to 30 supporters permitted to speak to the Board on her behalf," the documents state.
But Zuniga's attorneys claim those arguments about her non-tenured status are "wholly irrelevant," according to their brief.
The issue before the board was whether Zuniga demonstrated "unprofessional conduct," and that "deliberation was subject to the OPMA and should have been conducted publicly," the brief states.
The Open Public Meetings Act "expressly provides for public discussions of the termination of a public employee when requested by the employee," the brief states.
The brief acknowledges Zuniga has "no direct evidence" of board members meeting privately to discuss her case, but she alleges such a meeting occurred.
"Although Plaintiffs have no direct evidence of such deliberations, it seems implausible, to say the least, that every single board member would vote to terminate a school teacher without any discussion with fellow board members about the precise conduct of which she was accused, the particular policy she was alleged to have violated, the nature of her record as a teacher, and the possibility of imposing some lesser form of punishment," according to the brief.
Referring to Zuniga and Spence, the brief states they are "merely seeking to vindicate their rights and the rights of the broader public - rights afforded by the OPMA - to witness the deliberations of the Board" in deciding to terminate her employment.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.