Former Walnut Grove Elementary Teacher Sues Williamson County Schools

FRANKLIN, TN — A former Walnut Grove Elementary School second-grade teacher is suing Williamson County Schools, alleging she was bullied into resigning her position.

Melanie Lemon, who had taught second grade at the Franklin school since 2010, resigned May 24 following what the lawsuit calls "a systemic plan to bully her into resignation." An online petition that emerged in the days following her resignation drew more than 1,800 signatures and a group of parents wore black to a recent Williamson County Board of Education meeting in protest. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

Though she resigned, Lemon claims in the suit that her resignation was tantamount to wrongful termination because of the behavior of the school's principal, Katheryn Donnelly, as well as Director of Schools Mike Looney and his top deputy, Denise Goodwin. The lawsuit alleges that Donnelly and others "singled out" Lemon, giving her low in-classroom evaluation scores that reversed years of higher-than-average evaluations and suspending her following an allegation of child abuse.

A parent in Lemon's class saw the teacher allegedly grab a student, pulling the students hands down and saying "Stop it! Stop it!". Lemon was suspended for three days — the maximum allowed under law without a hearing — and was told the investigation was in the hands of law enforcement. Neither the child in question nor the parents of the child complained about the incident; law enforcement never investigated, according to the lawsuit.

Shortly thereafter, two cameras were placed in Lemon's classroom along with a retired teacher to "monitor" her behavior. Lemon claims this was "for the purpose of intimidating, stalking her, bullying her, and forcing her to resign outside tenure protocol."

Soon thereafter, Lemon says she was chastised by Looney for spending an excessive amount of time on the classroom computer — she claims she was simply responding to parent emails — and for leaving her class unattended.

Lemon says the nature of her resignation is constructive termination and violates her contract and the state's teacher tenure law. She is also claiming defamation and intimidation — among her claims are that colleagues were told to "remember who signs your paycheck" in an effort to quash any defense of her and that one of the people who planned to speak on her behalf at the school board meeting was told that speaking would prevent Lemon from teaching anywhere in the state again — and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She is seeking back and front pay and an unspecified amount of punitive damages. The suit also asks that WCS' anti-bullying policy be extended to adult employees.

In a statement emailed to The Tennessean, WCS spokesperson Carol Birdsong wrote "We understand she has now hired an attorney. If she and her attorney somehow try to litigate her resignation, we will aggressively defend Williamson County Schools.”