In Brief

Staff Reports

New Jersey School Board Files Tenure Charges Against Teacher Who Made Anti-Gay Facebook Posts

Viki Knox From Facebook

UNION TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY -- The school board of Union Township, New Jersey has filed tenure charges against Viki Knox, the high school English teacher whose anti-gay remarks on Facebook raised a firestorm over her free speech rights and her role as a public school teacher.

The board formally filed the charges against Knox in late December, a step that begins the lengthy and costly process to fire Knox, school board president Ray Perkins said. He could not comment on the findings of the district's three-month investigation of Knox's conduct."Every student, no matter what race, creed color or sexual orientation ought to be able to come to school and feel comfortable in a learning environment that’s welcoming and nurturing," Perkins said.

In her Facebook post, Knox had described gay people as "perverted spirits" whose sin "breeds like cancer." "Why parade your unnatural immoral behaviors before the rest of us?" Knox wrote, "I DO NOT HAVE TO TOLERATE ANYTHING OTHERS WISH TO DO. I DO HAVE TO LOVE AND SPEAK AND DO WHAT’S RIGHT!"

The inflammatory thread was forwarded to attorney John Paragano, a former Union Township councilman and municipal judge who urged in a letter to Chief School Administrator Patrick Martin, that Knox be dismissed.

"Hateful public comments from a teacher cannot be tolerated," Paragano wrote. "She has a right to say it. But she does not have a right to keep her job after saying it."

According to state records, Knox has taught for at least 20 years, including 10 in the Union district, and earns $70,688 a year. On her Facebook page, she had described herself as a special education teacher. A spokeswoman with the Office of Administrative Law said full details of the charges are not yet available, but that the tenure charges were based on "unbecoming conduct."

The case will be assigned to and heard by an administrative law judge, who will then recommend how Chris Cerf, the acting education commissioner, should decide on the matter.

The state Department of Education does not impose a social media policy on school districts, but a number have adopted or are considering such policies, along with increased training for teachers on the appropriate use of Facebook, Twitter and other media, said Frank Belluscio, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association. ~ The New Jersey Star-Ledger

New Hampshire Legislature Expected to Vote on Repealing Marriage Equality

Governor John Lynch, (D)

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- New Hampshire's lawmakers are expected to vote on the bill which would repeal the state’s marriage equality law next week. An senior legislative assistant speaking on the condition of anonymity indicated that a vote on the measure has tentatively been scheduled for next Wednesday, January 18th.

The measure is expected to pass in the GOP majority controlled legislature, but Democratic Governor John Lynch, who signed the same-sex marriage equality legislation into law in 2009, has publicly stated he will veto the current repeal measure. Political Observers and pundits note that it's unclear whether the Republicans could muster enough votes to override the Lynch’s veto.

A University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll conducted last October found that 62 percent of registered New Hampshire voters support the state's marriage equality law, and nearly 44 percent of those polled said they would consider voting against any lawmaker who supported the repeal bill.