A NJ State Administrative Law Judge has recommended tenure removal for a business teacher employed by the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District. According to the Trenton Times, the teacher, who was hired in 2001 and made $78,700 last year, called a special education student “a sick freak” and decorated her classroom with a Wall of Shame, which featured a “huge collage made up of over 100 pictures, many of them featuring Photoshopped images of high school students and references to and depictions of drugs, sex, nudity, and racially offensive language. One photo featured a woman holding a sign reading 'Out of work prostitute.' Another included a photo of a black student with the caption “I no speak da English so good.”
The district suspended the teacher and started tenure removal proceedings one year ago; per state code, the teacher received her full salary. That’s not unusual, according to New Jersey School Boards’ Mike Yaple: “It can be a very expensive and time-consuming procedure to remove a teacher with tenure. It can take over a year and cost well into the six digits.”
The Times piece describes the ALJ’s decision as a “rare step.” The teacher’s attorney has filed an appeal with Education Commissioner Chris Cerf.Labels: tenure