News (Media Awareness Project) - US OK: School Asks Top Court For Reversal -- District Doesn't |
| Title: | US OK: School Asks Top Court For Reversal -- District Doesn't |
| Published On: | 2002-05-03 |
| Source: | Oklahoman, The (OK) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-23 11:03:50 |
SCHOOL ASKS TOP COURT FOR REVERSAL -- DISTRICT DOESN'T WANT TO REHIRE
FIRED TEACHER
AFTON -- School officials have asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to
reverse an order requiring the district to reinstate a teacher who
was fired after facing marijuana charges. Matt Cyran, the Afton
School District's attorney, said Tuesday the schools have asked
justices to reverse an April 11 decision by the Oklahoma Court of
Civil Appeals.
The appeals court ordered the district to reinstate Carolyn Weaver,
who was dismissed in November 2000 on grounds of "moral turpitude,
neglect of duty and incompetence." An Ottawa County judge had upheld
her dismissal.
Weaver, 50, and her husband, Joe Weaver, 48, a former Watts
principal, were arrested Aug. 27, 2000, on drug complaints when
narcotics agents saw an 8- foot-tall marijuana plant growing behind
the couple's home on Grand Lake.
Charges against Carolyn Weaver were dismissed in October 2000 after
prosecutors failed to prove she had any knowledge of drugs or of her
husband's involvement with drugs during their 30-year marriage.
She voluntarily submitted to a drug test after her arrest. Results
showed she was negative for any traces of drugs.
Joe Weaver pleaded no contest in March 2001 to a felony charge of
cultivating marijuana and a misdemeanor count of marijuana possession
in Delaware County District Court. He has resigned from his job at
Watts.
The district's petition to the appeals court says justices could use
the case to give Oklahoma schools more power to decide who teaches
students. If the court's decision to reinstate Weaver stands, the
district alleges, "school districts will not be able to relieve our
children of teachers who are guilty of moral turpitude and other
misconduct, except pursuant to a standard of proof stricter than what
is required by the government to incarcerate criminals."
Richard O'Carroll, Weaver's attorney, said the appeals court made the
right decision. He said the district has spent thousands of taxpayer
dollars fighting a case it knows it can't win.
FIRED TEACHER
AFTON -- School officials have asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to
reverse an order requiring the district to reinstate a teacher who
was fired after facing marijuana charges. Matt Cyran, the Afton
School District's attorney, said Tuesday the schools have asked
justices to reverse an April 11 decision by the Oklahoma Court of
Civil Appeals.
The appeals court ordered the district to reinstate Carolyn Weaver,
who was dismissed in November 2000 on grounds of "moral turpitude,
neglect of duty and incompetence." An Ottawa County judge had upheld
her dismissal.
Weaver, 50, and her husband, Joe Weaver, 48, a former Watts
principal, were arrested Aug. 27, 2000, on drug complaints when
narcotics agents saw an 8- foot-tall marijuana plant growing behind
the couple's home on Grand Lake.
Charges against Carolyn Weaver were dismissed in October 2000 after
prosecutors failed to prove she had any knowledge of drugs or of her
husband's involvement with drugs during their 30-year marriage.
She voluntarily submitted to a drug test after her arrest. Results
showed she was negative for any traces of drugs.
Joe Weaver pleaded no contest in March 2001 to a felony charge of
cultivating marijuana and a misdemeanor count of marijuana possession
in Delaware County District Court. He has resigned from his job at
Watts.
The district's petition to the appeals court says justices could use
the case to give Oklahoma schools more power to decide who teaches
students. If the court's decision to reinstate Weaver stands, the
district alleges, "school districts will not be able to relieve our
children of teachers who are guilty of moral turpitude and other
misconduct, except pursuant to a standard of proof stricter than what
is required by the government to incarcerate criminals."
Richard O'Carroll, Weaver's attorney, said the appeals court made the
right decision. He said the district has spent thousands of taxpayer
dollars fighting a case it knows it can't win.
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