Two longtime Warsaw Community School Corp. employees filed suit Wednesday against the school corporation and superintendent for wrongful termination.

Janet Helton and Mary Scott were fired from their respective positions as personnel coordinator and payroll coordinator June 10 by Superintendent Dr. David McGuire.

The women filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Kosciusko Circuit Court against Warsaw Community Schools and McGuire, personally and as superintendent.

"We still have not seen the lawsuit so we can't comment on it," said McGuire today. Today is the first day of school, everything is going well and that's the area he said he was concentrating on. "It's been our practice not to comment on pending litigation."

According to the verified complaint for damages, filed by Indianapolis attorney John Price, Scott's son was enrolled in a 2004 summer school economics class. Scott asked that her son be taught economics by a certified instructor.

Scott checked with Helton, who oversaw the licensing of WCSC teaching staff, and discovered the license of the teacher scheduled to teach the economics class did not include teaching economics.

On June 1, Scott asked through an e-mail to a Warsaw Community High School guidance counselor that her son be transferred to another economics class, one taught by a teacher who teaches economics during the regular school year. The counselor forwarded Scott's request to Dr. Jennifer Brumfield, WCHS principal.

The lawsuit alleges that Brumfield never contacted Scott, and Scott's son was not transferred to another economics class, though other students' requests were granted.

Scott and Helton reportedly received written reprimands from McGuire, dated June 2, that were waiting for them when they arrived at work June 3.

The women were accused of breaching personnel confidentiality for private use. The women believed the reprimands were the result of a misunderstanding because all teachers' licenses and certifications are public records and are available on the Indiana Department of Education Web site.

Helton and Scott accessed the www.in.gov/psb Web site and discovered no records indicating the teacher was licensed to teach economics. They also accessed license information about other teachers who do teach economics during the school year.

All employees at the Central Instructional Materials Center (WCS administration building) received a memorandum referring to "a recent misuse of position to acquire and use personnel information." The memo stipulated that all records and information at the the CIMC are confidential unless acted on by the board and/or published.

During a June 3 meeting with McGuire, the lawsuit states, McGuire told Helton and Scott that the teacher Scott's son was assigned to has a Bulletin 400 license that would permit him to teach economics. However, that teacher's Bulletin 400 license covers government, U.S. history and speech and drama. There is no reference to economics.

At that meeting, Scott and Helton showed McGuire printouts of the Internet pages that list teacher licensing information. When the Internet pages were presented to McGuire and Sandra Hess, assistant superintendent, according to the lawsuit, ... "it seemed that neither had known that public school teachers' licensing information was and is public, published information."

McGuire reportedly said he stood behind the reprimand because there was a perception that something wrong had been done.

Helton said that perception could be cleared up by explaining that licensing information is a matter of public record. Scott offered to apologize to anyone who might have been offended; McGuire reportedly refused that offer.

The women returned to work.

On June 10, according to the suit, McGuire and Rande Thorpe, then WCS finance manager, went to Helton's office and then Scott's office, terminating both women's employment. McGuire reportedly told Helton neither she nor Scott took the reprimand seriously. McGuire told Scott she had been "argumentative," did not regret what she had done and would do it again.

Helton and Scott are seeking damages for wrongful termination, recovery for the humiliation or harm to their respective reputations, that their positions be returned, recovery of their financial losses, attorney fees and costs and any other equitable relief. [[In-content Ad]]