Retired teacher suing district
A retired music teacher claims the Watertown City School District violated her civil and constitutional rights by not accommodating her disability while she was still teaching.
Cynthia M. Graham, who once headed the Watertown Education Association, filed a federal lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court against the district, its Board of Education and Superintendent Terry N. Fralick.
Mrs. Graham, who declined comment on the matter Tuesday, is representing herself in the action. Mr. Fralick said Tuesday night he had not been served with the action and couldn't comment on it.
Mrs. Graham worked at various district schools for 40 years, most recently Ohio Elementary and H.T. Wiley Intermediate. She retired at the end of this school year, a move she claims was prompted by the district's discrimination against, and retaliation for, her disability.
Mrs. Graham's teaching assignments typically called for her to move between various schools throughout the day. Three years ago, she requested that she be assigned to a single building because of a "permanent" disability of limited mobility to her shoulder, neck and arm that allegedly resulted from injuries she suffered in 1998 and 2002 while working for the district.
Due to the 1998 injury, she requested a transfer that year from Wiley, where her position required daily piano playing and chorus directing, to a primary school "where the demands of upper body twisting and turning motion of her neck, right shoulder and right arm would be reduced," according to the suit. The request was granted, although she still was assigned to multiple buildings.
In June 2002, while transferring between buildings, she suffered a second injury, which exacerbated the 1998 injury. The state Workers' Compensation Board determined her injuries are permanent and her medical bills have been covered by state workers' compensation insurance, according to the suit.
A change in the configurations of the district's primary schools and Wiley in 2006, putting fourth grade classes previously at Wiley into the primary schools, increased Mrs. Graham's work load, for which the district allegedly made no accommodation to account for her disability.
For the 2007-08 year, she requested that she be assigned to a single building, a move that was not approved. Instead, she was assigned to Ohio and Case Middle schools and was given a reserved parking space ostensibly to aid her movements between schools. Mrs. Graham claims that she was the only teacher out of more than 300 to have a special parking space, making her a topic of "gossip" among other personnel.
She further claims that movements between schools, particularly in the winter, aggravates her disability. A collective bargaining agreement between WEA and the district gives personnel 30 minutes to move between schools, but she claims, given her disability, that is not enough time to clear off her vehicle in winter and drive to her next assignment. The insufficient time to "warm up" her vehicle also exacerbated her neck and shoulder injuries, she claims.
For the 2008-09 year, she was assigned solely to Ohio, but classes were lengthened from 30 minutes to 35 minutes, creating a schedule of "back-to-back" classes for her, "eliminating all of the time available for short rest periods" to assist her. The district allegedly refused to modify her schedule.
For the 2009-10 year, a half-time music position was cut at Wiley and she was assigned to "fill the resulting teaching gap," according to the suit, requiring her to drive between Ohio and Wiley daily. On March 30, the district announced it was cutting the half-time position, leading Mrs. Graham to conclude that "someone would have to pick up the extra class load" and "with the district's past treatment" of her, she believed it would be her.
Confronted again with the prospect of a multiple-building assignment and greater work load, Mrs. Graham opted to accept a retirement incentive, which she claims she was "coerced" into doing. She submitted her intent to retire May 12.
Mrs. Graham claims, among other things, the district failed to remedy any discrimination resulting from her disability and has no policy regarding employees with disabilities. She alleges the failure to act violated the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well as various state statutes.
According to court documents, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission considered Mrs. Graham's concerns, but a March 30 determination by the commission states that it was unable to conclude that any statute was violated. While the decision closed the EEOC case, it had no bearing on her right to bring a lawsuit.
Mrs. Graham's action seeks to have a judge order that the district provide accommodation to her disability and issue a temporary and permanent injunction preventing the district from denying Mrs. Graham and others in similar situations the accommodations. The suit also seeks an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages.
