TEACHER'S FIRING IS RULED UNFAIR

A Carroll teacher who was fired last fall after being charged with drug
possession has the right to return to her job this week, an arbitrator ruled.

Yvonne Fielder and her son, Jason, were charged after authorities found a
marijuana joint in a jewelry box and drug paraphernalia during a search of
Fielder's home Aug. 16. Fielder's son later claimed the drug materials
belonged to him and pleaded guilty.

Fielder, an award-winning speech and drama teacher, begins her trial today
in Carroll County District Court.

The Carroll school board fired 26-year teacher Fielder in September, saying
she showed "unprofessional conduct and poor leadership."

Dozens of students and parents who had carried balloons and placards in
support of Fielder during school board hearings called the decision unfair.
An arbitrator from Illinois agreed last week, said Dave Shinkle, Fielder's
Des Moines attorney.

The school board's decision wasn't supported by "competent evidence,"
according to a ruling provided by Shinkle. The board "acted in violation of
the rights of the teacher," the ruling said.

School officials will appeal the ruling, said Superintendent Steve Schulz.
The case will move to district court, where a decision could take up to
eight months. State law allows schools to punish employees who are accused
of crimes.

Fielder, 48, said her return to Carroll High School, where she had taught
for 16 years, hinges on the outcome of her trial and the school board's
appeal. She has been scouting job opportunities, "but at this time I'm
pretty much unemployable," she said Monday.

In August, police found a marijuana joint, pipes, photographs of people
smoking marijuana and a videotape showing how to make the illegal drug
ecstasy in Fielder's home, court records show.

Fielder said she found the marijuana joint after her son's graduation party
two years earlier. She tucked it away and planned to confront him but
forgot, Shinkle said.

Jason Fielder, 20, admitted he hid the other drug materials after moving in
with his mother a few days before the arrests. He is expected to testify at
his mother's trial, attorneys said.

If convicted, Fielder faces up to $1,000 in fines, up to six months in jail
and the loss of her driver's license for six months, County Attorney John
Werden said.