Kathryn Moore: Elementary school teacher fired for reporting sexual harassment in class
An Utah elementary school teacher was first transferred and then fired after she reported incidents of sexual harassment to the authorities.
Kathryn Moore from Utah was allegedly pressured to transfer to a different branch of Parley’s Park Elementary where she was later fired after she talked to the principal of the school about incidents of sexual harassment in her class.
In a lawsuit filed by Moore against the school, she mentioned that she told higher-ups that five girls in her fifth-grade class had alerted her that a boy was touching them inappropriately and leering at them.
Moore said that she immediately took the matter to principal Darren Houck. According to Moore, Houck suggested separating the boys and girls in her classroom and telling the parents of the students involved, KTVX reported about the incident. However, parents were not satisfied with this being implemented in the classroom by Moore and were collectively opposing the idea of a segregated classroom. Moore said that in January 2021, administrators approached her with an “opportunity” to leave her class and transfer to a different elementary school in the Park City School District, according to local NBC affiliate KSL.
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In the lawsuit, Moore stated that she felt that this opportunity was not optional and felt pressured to transfer. At her new school, Moore was given the position of a permanent sub where she was mostly loaded with busy work and did not really do a lot of teaching. Moore was terminated from her position at the end of the year. Her termination came with a non-renewal notice which made it extremely difficult for her to find any new jobs at public schools.
Moore was then forced to take a job with lower pay and much lesser benefits at a private school. In the lawsuit filed against the school, Moore is seeking payment for lost wages, compensatory wages to offset the downgrade in benefits, and several other damages against Park City School District, KTVX reported. The school didn’t comment, citing a policy against speaking about pending litigation.