Teacher Charged $22,000 for Using Phone During Class
Desley Getty, an Asbury Park High School performing arts teacher, was covering for a colleague in 2008, when she called the school superintendent during class.
At the same time, a student in the class happened to be recording two other students dancing and also captured Getty talking on the phone. The student posted the video on YouTube.
Seems innocuous enough, but Getty's school district prohibits teachers from making calls while performing assigned duties. The Asbury Park School Board hit Getty with a shocking $22,000 fine to be taken from her salary.
After being reprimanded by the school's principal, the county's school board tried to remove Getty from her job. All for a phone call... Other than this incident, Getty's record was clean.
An administrative law judge recommended that the teacher keep her job, even though Getty's behavior was "less than what was expected from an experienced, tenured teacher," according to the Press of Atlantic City.
The 120-day salary forfeiture will be based on calendar days and will be deducted from a base salary of about $70,000.
The teacher's lawyer says she will not appeal the fine and says Getty acknowledges she made a mistake.
Asbury Park High School is a comprehensive, four-year community public high school headquartered in Asbury Park, N.J. It serves pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.
What do you think? $22,000 for a phone call while helping another teacher?