MANSFIELD — Fuzzie Davis, a former assistant principal at Mansfield Senior High School, has filed a lawsuit against her former employers.
She was found to have been wrongfully terminated after an incident involving a sexually explicit conversation between a teacher and a student, according to a ruling by referee R. Lee Shepherd in December 2018.
The suit, filed in Richland County Common Pleas Court, Civil Division, states Davis was placed on paid administrative leave for “unspecified reasons.”
The suit is requesting the court order the school district to reinstate her back into her previous position within the district.
“They did not sit down and talk with Mrs. Davis,” the complaint reads. “They did not warn her. They did not reprimand her.”
Those named in the lawsuit are district superintendent Brian Garverick, assistant Mark Manley (who is no longer with the school district;) Scott Musser, director of career-tech education; Renda Cline, president of the Mansfield Board of Education; Gary Feagin, Vice President of the board, Sheyrl Weber, board member; Chris Elswick, board member; Judy Forney, board member and Robert Kuehnle, the district’s treasurer.
District spokesman Larry Gibbs said the district had no comment at this time.
The suit notes an April 17, 2018 board meeting where the board voted unanimously to terminate Davis’ employment. On April 23, Kuehnle sent a letter of termination. On Feb. 19, 2019, the board passed its resolution to reject the finding of Shepherd’s recommendation and terminated Davis.
The 66-page document cites five counts against the district and its administrators, including defamation, negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress, wrongful discharge and breach of contract.
Davis, an educator in the Mansfield School District for more than 30 years, is represented by Beverly Farlow, of Farlow & Associates. She was placed on administrative leave on Jan. 29, 2018 for failure to report an incident in which high school teacher Tom Gompf, asked at least one student about how much money it may take for them to perform sexual acts.
The incident took place Jan. 10, 2018, according to a student report filed by Musser.
Gompf and then-principal Jose Hernandez resigned following this incident.
Farlow argued during the public hearing that the mandatory duty to report is only applicable in circumstances involving a child under 18 years of age, or a person under 21 years of age with a developmental disability or physical impairment. The student in question was born in 1998.
