Cole v. Maine School Administrative Dist. No. 1
| Decision Date | 03 December 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV. 03-205-B-W.,CIV. 03-205-B-W. |
| Parties | Gary COLE, Plaintiff, v. MAINE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICT NO. 1, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maine |
Arthur J. Greif, Gilbert & Greif, P.A., Julie D. Farr, Gilbert & Greif, P.A., Bangor, ME, for Gary Cole, Plaintiff.
Melissa A. Hewey, Drummond, Woodsum & Macmahon, Portland, ME, for Maine School Administrative District # 1, Defendant.
Gary Cole, a public school teacher, claims the Maine School Administrative District 1 (District) is violating his First Amendment rights by buckling to pressure from Christian fundamentalists and restricting his ability to teach his students about non-Christian religions. Mr. Cole also claims he has suffered adverse employment actions in retaliation for exercising First Amendment rights. The District asserts it is entitled to summary judgment since Mr. Cole's case has nothing to do with the First Amendment and everything to do with the overriding right of the School District to decide what its students must be taught. Because Mr. Cole has generated genuine issues of material fact, this Court denies the District's Motion for Summary Judgment.
In accordance with "conventional summary judgment praxis," the Court recounts the facts in a light most favorable to Gary Cole's theory of the case consistent with record support.1 Gillen v. Fallon Ambulance Serv., 283 F.3d 11, 16 (1st Cir.2002). The Court has relied either on the uncontested facts or on Mr. Cole's version, if in conflict.2
Gary Cole has been a teacher since 1969. Having taught social studies and language arts elsewhere from 1969 to 1983, Mr. Cole began teaching seventh grade language arts at Skyway Middle School in 1983; Skyway Middle School is one of two middle schools within the District. (DSMF ¶¶ 2-3).3 In 1995, Mr. Cole began to teach seventh grade social studies. (DSMF ¶ 4). For the first two years, things went well and he was complimented by Pamela Hallett, the District's curriculum coordinator. (PSMF ¶ 55). Mr. Cole's social studies course covered the history, culture, and religion of the eastern hemisphere. He sought and received permission from Ms. Hallett to teach from a textbook called Human Heritage, since the old textbook, Europe and the Soviet Union, was outdated.4 (PSMF ¶¶ 56-57). From 1995 through the 1997 school year, the Skyway Middle School curriculum required the teaching of European and Asian history. (PSMF ¶ 100). This curriculum is consistent with how seventh grade is taught state-wide as recommended by the Maine Department of Education. (PSMF ¶ 97).
Before September 1997, Mr. Cole met with Ms. Hallett and Kevin Sipe, a seventh grade social studies teacher at Cunningham Middle School, the companion middle school within the District. (PSMF ¶ 58). Ms. Hallett reviewed the Maine Learning Results requirements. (PSMF ¶ 59). Mr. Cole was fully implementing the requirements; Mr. Sipe was implementing virtually none of the requirements. (PSMF ¶ 60). Ms. Hallett suggested to Mr. Cole and Mr. Sipe they get together, so that Mr. Sipe could implement Mr. Cole's curriculum. (PSMF ¶ 61).
Beginning the 1997-98 school year, Mr. Cole intended to pursue the same curriculum he had followed previous years. (PSMF ¶ 62). In early September, 1997, Skyway Middle School held an Open House. At the Open House, Mr. Cole was confronted by one of the parents, Donalee Olsen, who became "very verbal, very angry" at Mr. Cole. (PSMF ¶ 63). Ms. Olsen was very upset about the topics Mr. Cole had told her would be covered and she was "very concerned about the religious aspect of those topics." Id.
Shortly after the Open House, Ms. Olsen visited Mr. Cole's class. He was teaching about Cro Magnons and cave paintings. (PSMF ¶ 66). Ms. Olsen has testified she believes every word of the Bible is true, including that the earth is probably 8,000 to 10,000 years old. Id. Mr. Cole taught the class that Cro Magnon man is at least 40,000 years old. Id. As he discussed this topic, he noticed Ms. Olsen's face becoming redder and redder and she looked very angry. Id. At the end of the class, Mr. Cole spoke with Ms. Olsen and asked what she did for work; she very angrily responded she home-schooled her children. (PSMF ¶ 67). Later that same day, Mr. Cole passed by the principal's office and observed Ms. Olsen inside. (PSMF ¶ 68).5 Ms. Olsen was visibly upset. Id. The next day, Ms. Olsen's son failed to return to Mr. Cole's class; in fact, he never returned to Mr. Cole's classroom. Id.
Before changes in the curriculum, Mr. Cole also spoke with Debbie Carter, Ms. Olsen's sister. (PSMF ¶ 69). Ms. Carter objected to what Mr. Cole was teaching, specifically to "that old stuff, ancient history and stuff." Id. During their discussions about the religions of the eastern hemisphere, Mr. Cole felt Ms. Carter's objections were related to her religious beliefs. (PSMF ¶ 70). When Mr. Cole and Ms. Carter discussed the teaching of evolution Ms. Carter told Mr. Cole she had left her daughter Jillian in his classroom, because she knew Jillian's faith was strong and there would not be any problem for her. (PSMF ¶ 71).
Ms. Olsen and Ms. Carter are granddaughters of Reverend Blackstone, who was a minister at the Dunntown Advent Christian Church. (PSMF ¶ 49). They are members of the State Road Advent Church. (PSMF ¶ 50). Robert Davis, the former chair of the Board of Education for M.S.A.D. No. 1, is a member of the State Road Advent Church. (PSMF ¶ 53).6 In 1983, Robert Carter, a former principal at Skyway, informed Mr. Cole that the people at State Road Advent Church "think they can run the school."7 (PSMF ¶ 99).
On September 15, 1997, Mr. Cole received a note from Ms. Hallett notifying him of a meeting at Presque Isle High School to discuss the discrepancies in the seventh grade social studies curriculum. (PSMF ¶ 74). Mr. Cole arrived early at the meeting and discovered everyone else was already there and seated behind a long table. He was told to sit in a chair in front (PSMF ¶ 75). Present at the meeting were: Pamela Hallett; Kevin Sipe; John Graves, the principal of Skyway Middle School; and, other teachers Mr. Cole did not recognize. (PSMF ¶ 75). At the meeting, Ms. Hallett told Mr. Cole he should not be teaching what the High School World History teacher was teaching. (DSMF ¶ 16). Ms. Hallett informed Mr. Cole his whole program was wrong and he should not be teaching about Ancient Greece, because it is taught in high school. (PSMF ¶ 76). Mr. Cole was not told what he should be teaching, just what he should not be teaching. Id. Ms. Hallett did most of the talking and instructed Mr. Cole he was "teaching too much." Id. The only reason Ms. Hallett gave at the meeting for the directive not to teach Asian history was the District had decided it was going to be taught in Ninth, not Seventh Grade. (DSMF ¶ 18).
Mr. Cole was directed to stop using the textbook, Human Heritage, and to teach from Europe and the Soviet Union. (PSMF ¶ 77). Europe and the Soviet Union was an outdated textbook; seven years had passed since the Soviet Union had been disbanded. Id. During the two previous years, Ms. Hallett had agreed Europe and the Soviet Union was not an appropriate textbook for either Mr. Sipe or Mr. Cole to use in class and, in fact, it had never been used at Skyway Middle School, since it was purchased in 1991. Id.
Mr. Cole told Ms. Hallett he would comply with her directive and he did so. (PSMF ¶ 78). Mr. Cole understood the District did not want a teacher in middle school teaching the same subjects as a teacher in high school. (DSMF ¶ 17). However, Mr. Cole was uncertain what he was and was not supposed to teach. (PSMF ¶ 79). He was told to teach about Europe, but not Ancient Greece; told to teach the history of Europe, but not the Middle Ages in Europe; told not to teach any history on the Ninth Grade curriculum, which included European history, but to teach European history, including the Reformation and the Renaissance. (PSMF ¶¶ 79, 88, 89-91).
Shortly after the September 15, 1997 meeting, Mr. Cole sought out Gehrig Johnson, the District's Superintendent. (PSMF ¶ 85). Mr. Cole mentioned the Blackstones (Ms. Olsen and Ms. Carter). Id. Mr. Cole emphasized the Europe-only curriculum conflicted with the actual curriculum the District had adopted and conflicted with the Maine Learning Results. Id. After pointing out these curriculum changes took place after both Ms. Olsen and Ms. Carter complained, he suggested the District was letting the State Road Advent Christian Church and the Blackstones run the District. Id. Dr. Johnson responded: 8 (PSMF ¶ 86).
On November 3, 1997, Mr. Cole wrote Ms. Hallett for guidance; she failed to respond. (PSMF ¶¶ 81, 82). He wrote her again on September 14, 1998, concerning the results of a meeting among Mr. Sipe, Ms. Hallett and Mr. Cole in which he summarized their agreement on implementation of the Maine Learning Results. (PSMF ¶ 112). Again, Ms. Hallett failed to respond. Id.
Mr. Cole has continued to teach at Skyway. However, on January 11, 2001, Mr. Graves wrote to Mr. Cole, instructing him to follow the curriculum's course of study, noting he had taught major units of study of Sumaria, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Israel, and he was preparing to teach Ancient Greece in January 2001. (PSMF ¶ 79 — Ex. 11). The letter stated it would be placed in his personnel file and any "violation of this directive will result in further disciplinary action against you." Id. On June 2, 2004, his attorney received a letter from the District's attorney, threatening to terminate him on the ground his employment is "unprofitable to the school." (PSMF ¶ 115). The District's lawyer's letter cites his lack of compliance with the District curriculum. Id. Mr....
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