Cedarburg, WISCONSIN

Wonder why teachers aren't fired more often? Because, depending on their connections, it can take years. And it can drag on endlessly.

August 22 - Robert Zellner asking the state Supreme Court to decide his pornography-related termination case. (AGAIN)

Cedarsburg Education Association (union) petition for review. PDF
Wisconsin Education Association Council statement PDF
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TT - This is the second time the case has gone to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Previous TT coverage.

TIMELINE
June 2003 - A community leader expresses concern to the school superintendent that Zellner was into pornography. Zeller is president of the Cedarsburg teachers union.

August 2004 - Zellner asks to have his computer reimaged after pop-up ads interfere with computer use. It is the SECOND time in nine months his computer was reimaged because of, the superintendent says, computer usage "that should not have occurred."
Technology department to monitor the computer use.

December 2005 - Technology department review finds Zellner used computer to to view pornography in November.

December 20, 2005 - Zellner admits accessing pornography and said he had done so in the past. He refuses offer to resign.

January 16, 2006 - Board votes unanimously to fire Zellner. Under the teacher contract, the matter goes to binding arbitration.

June and July 2006 - There is a three-day hearing before an arbitrator. School presents evidence that Zellner had viewed pornography in November and that such images may have been viewed as early as 2003.

September 2006 - Arbitrator rules that the Board was not justified in firing Zellner. Bizarrely, the arbitrator said that teachers who committed other computer offenses, such as looking up stocks, were not fired.

[Later, Zellner asks for and gets the arbitration hearing transcript declared confidential and closed because they contain "medical information" about Zellner.]

Lawsuit - School board refuses to rehire Zellner and Zellner sues the school board.

April 2007 - Arbitration decision overturned. Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Joseph McCormack overturned the decision, saying the arbitrator failed to consider that Zellner's actions amounted to "immoral conduct."

The board, which has spent more than $100,000 in legal fees on the case, has indicated it is dead set against rehiring Zellner.

May 2007 - When a newspaper sought to gain access under the open records law to the memo and CD with the images that were used in the evidentiary hearing to fire Zeller, Zellner's attorneys in the union sought an injunction. A circuit judge ruled in favor of the newspaper, an appeal sent the case to the state Supreme Court.

Zeller's attorneys and Zellner claimed the pornographic images could not be released because they were "copyrighted."

The state Supreme Court ruled against Zellner, ruling that the public had an interest in the CD and memo. "They are entrusted with the responsibility of teaching children, and the public has an interest in knowing about such allegations of teacher misconduct and how they are handled. The public also has an interest in knowing how the government handles disciplinary actions of public employees."

The newspaper never revealed the contents of the memo, but they reviewed the CD and pronounced that "there was no proof that he had reviewed all 1500 images."

April 2008 - The state Court of Appeals chooses not to take the appeal and asks the state Supreme Court to take the case.

April 2008 - Ten days after the teachers union-supported candidate for the state Supreme Court is defeated and the court becomes more conservative, Zellner's attorney wants case returned to the state Supreme Court.

April 2008 - The case goes (again) to the state Supreme Court.

May 2008 - The state Supreme Court sends the case back to the Appeals Court, pending a case that might be seen as precedent and still under consideration.

July 2008 - The state Court of Appeals upholds firing and the decision of Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Joseph McCormack.

August 2008 - Zellner is is asking the state Supreme Court to decide his pornography-related termination case.

AT ISSUE: "The ruling opens the door as to whether courts are going to start reviewing arbitrator's findings, and that's contrary to Wisconsin law," Jina Jonen, the lawyer who works for the Wisconsin Education Association Council in Madison, said.

At issue is whether it will be Wisconsin law. Arbitrator's rulings should be reviewed by courts who are responsible to the public.