PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Teachers at Philadelphia’s Masterman School are suing the school district, claiming their pay was unfairly docked because they sought answers about asbestos in their building.
In August 2021, Masterman teachers refused to go inside due to asbestos concerns and instead worked in the outdoor courtyard during two prep days. Math teacher Ethan Tannen said the district issued disciplinary notices and docked teachers’ pay for publicly seeking answers about conditions in the building.
“It was clear that the district was just trying to silence us,” he said. “We’re honestly shocked that they would take this step of illegally taking away our pay for work that we did.”
After two unsuccessful years of trying to get the “unauthorized leave without pay” notices reversed, Tannen and other Masterman teachers are now suing the School District of Philadelphia, claiming their First Amendment rights were violated.
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“The teachers tried everything,” said their attorney, Mary Catherine Roper. “They tried a grievance, they tried writing letters. When [Superintendent] Dr. Watlington took over the school district, they tried again to get the school district to rescind this discipline.”
The class-action lawsuit, filed in federal court, seeks back wages plus interest. The teachers also want their records cleared.
Roper said the suit is a last resort.
“It’s not legal for the school district to retaliate against them when they are engaged in First Amendment-protected speech,” she argued.
A district spokesperson said the district cannot comment on pending litigation.