board member slanders district administrator

[65guitars]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

Hello all,
I am a school district administrator and have been employed in the same district for 13 years;5 years as a teacher, 4 as a high school assistant principal, 3 years as a district level administrator.

It is well-known that one of our school board members wants to re-hire a former district employee (they are long-time very close friends) who worked for me and was laid off last year, and she wants me gone. My position was eliminated this year (supposedly because of budget cuts). But, instead of being reassigned to another administrative position (for which there are several current openings), I have been reassigned as a teacher, with a $46,000/year difference in salary. Every one of my performance evaluations for the past 13 years have been glowing and I am highly respected by parents, students and fellow employees. There has never been a complaint against me.

THE DEFAMATION INCIDENT: After a school board meeting this Board Member approached a community member to show her an anonymous hate letter that was supposedly sent to her. The Board Member went on to say that I wrote that letter. Remember, she said this to a community member! When the superintendent called the board member, the board member at first denied having accused me of writing the letter, but finally relented and admitted to telling the citizen that she believed I wrote it. (Others have said that the board member wrote this letter herself to smear me, but I have no proof of that)

Is this a good case for defamation of character?

 

[quincy]

I do not believe you have a real good basis for a defamation action against the board member, based on what you have posted here, but you may want to run your situation by an attorney in your area for a complete review of all of the facts.

Some facts that are important are, one, how you found out about the board member's comments to the community member and, two, who it was who notified the superintendant of the letter and, three, if the superintendant saw the hate letter, and, four, if your reassignment came before or after the disclosure of the letter.

If possible, you should have a copy of the "hate" letter for the attorney to review, and you should be able to demonstrate the harm that has directly resulted from claims you were the author of this letter (the loss of income from your reassignment, for instance, if it can be tied directly to the defamatory comments made by the board member).

If budget cuts are a reasonable explanation for your reassignment, or if there are other equally reasonable explanations for your reassignment, or if your reassignment came before the disclosure of the letter, you will find it very difficult to show that the comments made by the board member directly resulted in your reassignment or in any reputational injury.

Without a copy of the letter, it is harder to show that saying or implying that you are the author of the letter is defamatory. The community member who saw the letter would need to verify the content of the letter and report on how the board member presented the letter (as fact, as suspicion, as belief based on fact, with any apparent malicious intent, whatever) and the community member would have to say what he believed about you after seeing the letter (did he believe you wrote it or did he discount the board member's claims as nonsense), etc.

In addition, you would want testimony from the superintendant, on his opinion of you after seeing or hearing about the letter, and on whether the letter or the comments by the board member had any tie to your reassignment.

Defamation actions are expensive to pursue and time-consuming, and they should only be considered if you have solid proofs to support your claims that this board member defamed you and that you have suffered severe reputational injury as a result.

Good luck.