FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): A fired Fort Wayne Community Schools employee is suing the district for wrongful termination.
Robert Rinearson, who was a supervisor of safety and student management, was suspended last May, and eventually fired, after physically removing a disorderly student from a school bus and moving the student to an office, according the Journal Gazette. But Rinearson says he was actually being punished for a guest column he wrote earlier that week for the News-Sentinel that criticized the movement known as Black Lives Matter.
He claims he had never been reprimanded for using “appropriate physical force” to restrain a child in the prior 17 years, and he claims not only did the district violate his First Amendment rights, but he was also racially discriminated against.
Rinearson, who is white, claims two black staff members had physically assaulted students in the past but weren’t fired, and also claims the district only interviewed black candidates to replace him.
He’s seeking back pay, lost future income, and other damages.
The district declined to comment.
2 comments
Let’s hope WOWO continues any updates to this case.
I have known Bob for years. He is one of the good guys. We started at FWCS together years ago and he was told in no uncertain terms that he could not have a private citizen opinion. NFL players can kneel but school employees can’t have opinions.