As pointed out in a Winston-Salem Journal column by John Railey, many questions linger over the allegations of sexual misconduct by Susan Wiseman, a teacher at East Forsyth High School.

What surprises me most about this case is that Wiseman has been “fired” over allegations. No proof or evidence substantiating the claims of sexual misconduct have surfaced and Forsyth County District Attorney Tom Keith did not even want to prosecute the case.

Ever since this controversy began I have stood by Ms. Wiseman. I just don’t think she did anything. I have known Ms. Wiseman for about four years now. I first met her while working with the now-defunct GLSEN Winston-Salem and through my own activist and advocacy work as a student at R.J. Reynolds High School. When I became a graduate of the school in 2004, I continued to work with and keep in touch with Ms. Wiseman. Knowing her personally and knowing her character I have a firm belief that she is innocent.

I have, however, admitted that if it were ever proven she did anything, then I would retreat from my point and call for the proper punishments. As I told Paul Chesser of the Carolina Journal when he was writing his most recent article on the subject, Ms. Wiseman should be punished if she did it… but I don’t have any evidence of her guilt and neither does anyone else. Railey’s column says just about the same thing.

I also have to question why the members of the Board of Education just took Superintendent Don Martin’s “recommendation” regarding Ms. Wiseman’s “termination” and voted for it. Why weren’t there any substantial and/or meaningful questions asked? Why did the Board members just kind of go along with what Martin wanted? Where are the “checks and balances”… where is the oversight? With Dr. Martin’s track record (not to even mention School System Attorney Doug Punger’s track record) with LGBT issues and LGBT youth, I hardly trust their “advice” or “recommendations”.

Here is Railey’s column:

Thorny questions linger after allegations bring teacher down
Sunday, March 26, 2006
John Railey, Journal Columnist (source)

Here’s the first thing that gnaws at you about Susan Wiseman’s situation: When it’s all said and done, an allegation by a student is all it really takes to get you booted out of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools system – and booted out of teaching in any public school in the state.

That’s true for teachers in many school systems these days. But here’s the second thing that gnaws at you: You can’t help but wonder if openly gay teachers like Wiseman might be more prone to having allegations result in big trouble.

School-board members say that isn’t the case. But Wiseman bowed out of fighting for her job, a fight that might well have touched on her homosexuality. “We’re all human, and I guess those things you just can’t completely ignore,” Donny Lambeth, the school-board chairman, told me last week.

On Superintendent Don Martin’s recommendation, Lambeth and the rest of the board voted unanimously earlier this month not to renew Wiseman’s probationary teaching contract. That came in response to an allegation that she had a “prohibited relationship” with a female student who goes to East Forsyth High School, where Wiseman, 27, taught social studies.

The board and Martin are also asking the state to permanently revoke her teaching license.

Here’s the third thing that gnaws at you: Why did Wiseman agree to the arrangement the board voted on, and why isn’t she joining her supporters in proclaiming her innocence? You might assume it’s because she did have an inappropriate relationship with the 17-year-old student. If that’s true, Martin and the school board took necessary action to protect students.

That’s easier to stomach than the second possibility. That possibility is that the allegation wasn’t true, but Wiseman, who’d earned a reputation as a good teacher, was scared that, if she fought the allegation, she’d get fired and have a hard time ever getting another teaching job anywhere. And maybe she feared she’d be wrongly charged with a crime.

Speculation about the case rages. Especially since Wiseman’s not talking publicly, and Martin and the school system attorney, Doug Punger, bound by state law on personnel matters, aren’t saying much more. The fact that this case has been shrouded in secrecy from the start has only fueled the fiery debate between liberals who suggest that Wiseman lost her job because she was an advocate for gay students and conservatives who suggest that she’s proof that gays have no place in classrooms.

After a police investigation of sexual misconduct, District Attorney Tom Keith said late last month that his office wouldn’t be pressing charges against Wiseman because the student decided she didn’t want to prosecute. But if the student changes her mind, prosecutors could still charge Wiseman.

Punger continued a school-system investigation with two school administrators, whom he declined to name. Then, Martin made his recommendation to the school board. Wiseman agreed to surrender her teaching license, school board officials said, and they also said they will ask the state to permanently revoke her license. All that over an allegation of violating an administrative regulation.

The regulation: “All employees are prohibited from dating, courting, or entering into a romantic or sexual relationship with any student who is enrolled in a Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School where the employee is assigned, regardless of the student’s age.”

“I can just tell you the relationship was inappropriate,” Martin said. “I do not think that there is a person in this community who, if they had the facts presented to them, would not agree with the outcome.”

Punger declined to say whether “dating,” “courting,” or “entering into a romantic or sexual relationship” applied in Wiseman’s case.

As in most cases when Martin makes a recommendation on personnel, the school-board members trusted his judgment. They didn’t ask much about the specifics of the allegation against Wiseman.

Lambeth said, “The way I heard it, at least, it was more of a romantic relationship. … It was almost as if it was some romantic adventure instead of anything beyond that.”

Whatever the case, few folks are saying that anything definitely happened, just that something was alleged to have happened.

“Although she (Wiseman) was not taken to court or anything, the word is out over there at East,” said school board member Victor Johnson Jr.

“I don’t think people (students and people in the community) talk about anything they don’t have any facts about. That’s serious there.”

Being openly gay is “something that this community doesn’t approve of,” he said. He added, “as long as you’re openly gay and not accused of being with any children, I think you can get away with it.”

Any way you look at it, an accusation was enough to get Susan Wiseman out of the classroom.

Another thing I would like to address are the comments made by Board of Education member Victor Johnson Jr. Now, of course, I wasn’t the one to hear him make these comments so I’m not completely able to understand exactly what he meant when he said them.

Here is what Johnson said in the column:

Being openly gay is “something that this community doesn’t approve of,” he said. He added, “as long as you’re openly gay and not accused of being with any children, I think you can get away with it.”

And here is what I heard him saying:

According to the community being gay is a sin and is wrong. Gay teachers can get away with being sinful and wrong… just as long as they stay away from our children… if someone makes a false allegation, well… that is the gay teacher’s fault.

I don’t know… maybe he didn’t mean for his comments to be taken that way, but there are some definite flaws in what he said and how he said it (or maybe just some flaws in how Railey reported it in his column).

All I know is that the problems surrounding LGBT youth and LGBT issues are still a-swirling in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System. The Board of Education, the Superintendent and the School System Attorney are doing all they can to make sure LGBT students continue to be harassed and continue to feel unsafe and unwelcome in their own schools.

Take this comment left by a Forsyth County student, for example:

I think it is outragous what they did to Miss. Wiseman…We all know what it really comes down to. Its ok for people to be homophobic but we all know if it didnt deal with homosexulity she would have her jjob back. She is a awesome person, wonderful teacher and a understanding person. I never really like W-S and now i know why. Will will this end…? It makes me feel unsafe in my own school. What can they do to be because im gay? I dont know but i dont want to find out

The Board of Education and the administration of the WS/FCS has handled this case completely in the wrong way. While doing so they have managed only to invoke even more fear and trembling into the hearts of LGBT teachers and students.

It is time for a change… vote out the bigots (see Anti-Gay Politicians Watches 1 and 2) in November… PLEASE????

For more information about these issues, an archive of past posts is available here.

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