Song suit delay sought -- Attorneys: Teachers working under 'cloud of fear'

Song suit delay sought -- Attorneys: Teachers working under 'cloud of fear'

By PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 06/04/09

Attorneys for St. Johns County School District have filed a motion in federal court seeking an order to delay giving depositions and assembling evidence over a lawsuit filed against three employees of The Webster School over the singing of two religious songs.

The district's motion said school officials must spend "a great deal of time" preparing to fight the lawsuit while they simultaneously prepare for the end of this school year, plan the 2009-10 school year and "work through difficult issues related to reduced school budgets caused by the loss of state funding."

School Superintendent Joseph Joyner declined to comment on the latest motion.

But the motion's text said the litigation "has caused a great deal of fear and disruption. The chaotic effect of filing claims for monetary damages against multiple defendants cannot be overstated, and the impact upon the School District's ability to carry out its primary mission is palpable."

Teachers are trying to do their job under a "cloud of fear" that they'll be held personally liable for the "substantial monetary" damages requested by the plaintiffs, the motion said.

The district asked the judge to rule on defense motions claiming "qualified immunity" for two Webster teachers, Dawn Caronna and Debbie Moore, and Webster Principal George Leidigh.

Qualified immunity protects government officials from liability for the violation of an individual's constitutional rights, where their actions did not violate the law.

The March 17 suit was filed by two unnamed parents of Webster students who claim violations of their children's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights after their children's' class practiced "In God We Still Trust" for an assembly program. The 2005 country song by the group Diamond Rio states that there is "no separation" between God and America. "Now it's time for all believers to make our voices heard," the song ends.

In late April, the parents sought a second injunction against the district for a second song, "Chatter with the Angels," which they said was a "blatantly sectarian and proselytizing religious song."

The School District said "Chatter" is an African-American song that has been on the state's approved teaching list for more than 20 years.

This is the district's second request for a delay in the "In God We Still Trust" case. In early April, district attorneys asked for a 10-day delay due to the "substantive constitutional issues" raised by the lawsuit, in addition to the parents' request for a temporary injunction to have the song removed from any school performances.

Attorney D. Gray Thomas of Sheppard, White, Thomas & Kachergus, Jacksonville, represents plaintiffs S.D., A.J.D., M.P., and O.J.P.

The district's latest motion said that Webster officials "have grown increasingly concerned with one of the adult plaintiff's refusal and/or unwillingness to follow basic school sign-in rules and school procedures that apply to all parents."

The district said it was "concerned" that if the issue was brought to the plaintiff's attention, "the complaint will be amended again and another claim of retaliation will be filed."

Thomas said late Wednesday that his office will respond to the district's motion next week.

But, he said, if you read the district's motion carefully, "You will see that we object to it."


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