KANSAS CITY – James Pace, a former teacher at Trailwoods Elementary School, filed a lawsuit April 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri claiming multiple school officials deprived him of due process when he was fired for alleged misconduct.
Pace alleges the Kansas City American Federation of Teachers union president, along with the Kansas City Public School system failed to ensure the proper communication necessary for due process was filed and occurred in an effective matter. He argued this caused his termination to take place without due process, just cause, or investigation.
Pace cited Perry v. Sniderman as the precedent for the complaint. The court ruled in Perry that, "a teacher could feel that he had permanent tenure so long as his teaching services were adequate," according to court documents.
Pace alleges he was publicly accused of misconduct that was false and was not allowed to present evidence to the contrary at any meeting or hearing. He argued that he was fired in 2013 after reporting being bullied by one of his coworkers.
The lawsuit seeks $125,000 in lost wages and $58,000 in health insurance payouts as relief for Pace.
The complaint further alleges Andrea Flinders, the Kansas City Federation of Teachers Union Local 691 president, failed to move forward with the grievance when the Kansas City Missouri Public Schools stopped the grievance from proceeding.
Pace contends he asked Flinders to file a wrongful termination grievance on multiple occasions, and she agreed to do so. Flinders stopped returning Pace's calls to check on the status of the grievance and, Pace argues, there is no evidence that shows the grievance was filed.
Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are the district's lead lawyer, the school's supervising principal, two coworkers and two union representatives.