Teachers to appeal Iowa Board of Regents terminations

Two longtime teachers terminated from the Iowa School for the Deaf last week are planning to appeal the decision and fight for their jobs, an attorney representing the women told The Gazette.

The Board of Regents on Thursday unanimously voted to terminate the 2015-2016 contracts for Tina Murdoch and Tricia Tighe. The board's decision came after two closed discussions and without public explanation.

The women's attorney - Raymond Aranza, with The Law Office of Marks Clare & Richards, LLC, in Omaha - said the move could set a dangerous precedent for Iowa.

'It's something that should concern any teacher in the state,” Aranza said.

Murdoch - who taught language arts, literacy, math, and science for the school in Council Bluffs - had been there since 1990, recently passing the quarter century milestone. In June, she signed a contract for the 2015-2016 school year to earn a base salary of $60,375 - below her previous year's base pay of $61,179, according to the state salary database.

Tighe - who specialized in special education and assistive technology - had been at the school since 2000, putting her tenure over 15 years. She also signed a new contract in June to make a base salary of $65,348, below her previous year's base pay of $66,801, according to state records.

Both women in November received letters suspending them and recommending termination, according to Aranza. His clients are waiting to see the board's decision in writing, which could provide some clarity. But, from what they know right now, Aranza said the terminations were not based on egregious acts, student abuse, or misconduct.

'The termination was based upon an administrator's second guessing of teaching methods and teaching style and how they did their work,” Aranza said.

Murdoch, who spoke briefly with The Gazette, said she and Tighe plan to appeal - citing their years of service to the school and a recent principal change. The Board of Regents appointed Rebecca Gaw to take over as principal of the school effective July 1, 2014. At a starting salary of $95,000, Gaw replaced Sharon Slater, who retired after the 2013-2014 school year.

Gaw, according to media reports, previously served as the school's principal from 2003 to 2010, after which she left for a director position in Pennsylvania. Gaw eventually came back to the Council Bluffs school as a sign language coordinator and returned to the principal role upon Slater's retirement.

Gaw declined to comment for this story, as did Steven Gettel, superintendent of the Iowa School for the Deaf and the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton.

But Aranza said he plans to appeal to an adjudicator on behalf of his clients. The adjudicator, he said, will review evidence and decide whether the terminations were appropriate.

'The goal is to put them back to work,” Aranza said. 'That's really what they want. They are teachers. They have been teaching for a long time.”

Due to further proceedings, Aranza declined to discuss details of evidence presented against his clients during closed-door regents meetings. But, he said, the terminations could set a standard that should concern educators statewide.

'If every teacher had to look over their shoulder, I don't think that many would want to teach,” he said. 'I don't know that many teachers in this state are aware of this decision. But I'm sure they will be. And it is scary.”

The Board of Regents - which oversees Iowa's three public universities and two special schools, including the Iowa School for the Deaf and Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School - has cited Iowa law in declining to publicly disclose details about the personnel actions.

But, Aranza stressed, school and board officials did not accuse his clients of significant lapses in judgment or misconduct.

'They were just teaching,” he said. 'They were just going to work every day.”

Murdoch and Tighe, according to Aranza, were 'doing the best they could” for the school, which in the fall served 104 students on campus and five students off campus.

'If we were to believe the administration at the School for the Deaf, apparently these ladies forgot how to do it after all these years,” he said.