Bureau sides with employee

Report: Teacher was discriminated against

The Montana Human Rights Bureau has agreed that West Valley School District unlawfully discriminated against a former employee.

Cori Malloy, formerly a special education and middle school art teacher at West Valley School, said the district discriminated against her based on gender and retaliated against her for complaining about discriminatory treatment. The district has denied any discrimination.

A second former employee has filed a complaint with the bureau as well.

According to a Human Rights Bureau investigative report dated Dec. 11, 2007, Malloy failed to provide evidence supporting her gender discrimination complaint. Investigator Mary W. Tapper did, however, support Malloy's retaliation claim, stating she found "reasonable cause to believe unlawful discrimination occurred."

Malloy filed a grievance with the school board against West Valley Superintendent Todd Fiske, claiming he was hostile toward her because of her strained relationship with a coworker. She filed a complaint with the Human Rights Bureau after she was twice placed on a "plan of improvement" - a move the district said was necessary because Malloy was not performing her job adequately, but which Malloy believed was retaliation.

In her report, Tapper agreed with Malloy. When the report was completed, the Human Rights Bureau had 30 days to resolve the dispute through conciliation. The next step may be a formal hearing.

According to Tapper's report, the trouble began in 2006, when Malloy was the director of West Valley's special education department. The number of special-needs students was growing, so the district hired an additional special education teacher to start the following fall.

The new teacher, Sarah Bilal, "misrepresented her training and skills during the interview," according to the report. She hadn't completed her student teaching when the district hired her.

Even though Bilal had been hired to alleviate some of Malloy's workload, West Valley Superintendent Todd Fiske assigned Malloy to supervise Bilal's student teaching. Malloy complained to Fiske that Bilal couldn't do the job because she lacked the necessary skills.

According to the report, Fiske disregarded the complaint and "characterized the situation as a 'catfight.'"

"Fiske told Malloy that she needed to take Bilal out for a beer or they could go get their nails done together 'or whatever it is that you gals do,'" the report said.

Administrators reportedly told Malloy she could not give Bilal a failing student-teaching evaluation. According to the report, Fiske told Malloy that Bilal would repeat her student teaching in January 2007, because he didn't want to fail her.

Neither Fiske nor Assistant Principal Dan Anderson had evaluated Bilal's performance at that time, the report said. Their first evaluation reportedly took place in February 2007, shortly before Bilal resigned.

Malloy was frustrated with Bilal, who "would not take direction" and made mistakes that Malloy had to correct, which made her fall behind in her own work.

On Dec. 20, 2006, Fiske told Malloy that she had been insubordinate and that Bilal had charged her with unprofessionalism. He reportedly did not tell Malloy why she was accused of insubordination, and Tapper's report could not find a satisfactory answer to that question, "other than Malloy's disagreement with Fiske regarding Bilal's teaching."

Fiske verbally reprimanded Malloy for insubordination. Verbal reprimands may, in time, be removed from a personnel file; written reprimands remain in the file indefinitely.

Two days later, Fiske asked Malloy to sign a "written/verbal reprimand." She refused to sign it, and instead asked him to clarify how she had been insubordinate.

He didn't answer her and, according to the report, threatened to make her verbal reprimand a written letter of reprimand. He did tell Malloy about Bilal's allegations against her.

"Fiske has told Malloy she struts around like a 'queen' or 'diva' and that she is an extremely emotional woman," the report stated. "Fiske told Malloy that perhaps she should have a hysterectomy; it might improve her mood."

Fiske denied making the statement, according to the report.

Tension between Bilal and Malloy escalated in January 2007, after Fiske told Malloy he wouldn't let Bilal complete student teaching at West Valley. Rumors circulated that Fiske had reprimanded Malloy for being abusive to Bilal. Bilal "was openly hostile" to Malloy and refused to follow directions.

Bilal asked Malloy to reconsider supervising her student teaching. When Malloy declined, Bilal reportedly blamed her for failing student teaching. She continued to slander Malloy to their coworkers, and Malloy was worried Bilal would file a grievance against her. To stop the harassment and protect her rights, Malloy hired an attorney.

In February 2007, Fiske set up regular meetings with Bilal and Malloy. According to the report, Fiske mediated each time they met, because communication between the two teachers was so poor.

During one of these meetings, Fiske reportedly told them, "I'm not asking you to get your nails done - I am asking that you both be respectful and professional while in our school building."

In March, Malloy was placed on a plan of improvement. The school district said the plan was necessary because Malloy was not teaching her students, had not completed individualized education plans for them and was confrontational with staff members.

Fiske reportedly told Malloy the plan of improvement would be implemented because she'd hired a lawyer.

Malloy filed a grievance against Fiske with the school board March 6, the day after her plan of improvement began. The grievance "alleged that Fiske demonstrated, and continued to demonstrate a pattern of hostile, overbearing and intimidating behavior towards her because of Bilal," the report said.

Although Malloy maintained that she met the demands of the plan of improvement, Fiske said she failed to meet the stipulations set forth, despite a 15-day extension. In June, he gave her a written reprimand and put her on a second plan of improvement, which would have been implemented in fall 2007.

"Malloy was unwilling to show improvement and meet the necessary requirements spelled out in her plan of improvement," Fiske alleged, according to the report. "Malloy's unwillingness to accept and make necessary changes and her lack of professionalism regarding the process were all obstacles for noncompliance and failure to improve."

In her report, Tapper determined that Malloy did, in fact, fulfill the first plan of improvement. Cooperation broke down between Malloy and Fiske after Malloy filed her grievance in March, and Fiske implemented the second plan of improvement shortly thereafter.

"The reasons offered by [Fiske] for reprimanding Malloy and placing her on two plans of improvement were a pretext for retaliation," Tapper said. "Therefore, I find that Malloy has proved by a preponderance of the evidence that unlawful discrimination occurred."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com