The Polk County School system has scheduled a hearing for 9 a.m. Sept. 8, which the two women said will likely be a termination hearing, according to an emergency motion filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Rome.
Amber Fuqua and Rhonda Lindsey, both special education teachers, claim Superintendent Darrell Sorrells expressed interest Aug. 19 in reinstating them as teachers but not as coaches, according to the lawsuit. When the women refused those terms, the hearing was scheduled, they said in the motion.
Sorrells said his attorney has advised him not to comment on the case.
The motion asks the federal court to force the school system to disclose witness statements and other evidence to the women so they can prepare for the hearing.
Because the school has allegedly listed more than 65 witnesses who could testify at the hearing, the women say they need more time to prepare a defense, according to the motion.
The school system is not disclosing the records because the investigation into the explicit photographs is ongoing, the motion claims.
Fuqua and Lindsey both filed lawsuits earlier this month against Sorrells and the Polk County School Board after they said they were unfairly suspended.
Both were put on administrative leave with pay Aug. 12 after Sorrells questioned them about the existence of nude photographs that were allegedly taken of cheerleaders while on a summer retreat that took place on June 17 at Weiss Lake in Alabama, according to the lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, the women claim that Sorrells and the school system doesn’t have any evidence of the photographs’ existence.
They also accused the school district of violating their rights of due process by suspending her without a written notification and a hearing as required by Georgia law.
Rome attorney Stewart Duggan is representing both women
Post a Comment