Sibley, Iowa — A former teacher in the Sibley-Ocheyedan School District will be offered her job back after a ruling from the Iowa Supreme Court.
According to the legal brief, administrators at the school had raised concerns about the performance of Danna Braaksma, one of the district’s high school teachers, and required her to participate in an “intensive assistance program.” Teachers have from six to twelve months to complete the program. In this case, the district terminated Braaksma’s employment before she’d been afforded six months to carry out the program.
The school district contended that at any time, they had the right to terminate Braaksma’s contract for “just cause,” and they argued that is what was done. They argued that the “just cause” termination trumped any right to continue the intensive assistance program. They said that her failure to teach to grade level constituted an offense separate from the performance issues.
The Iowa Supreme Court disagreed. They reversed the school board’s decision and the district court’s ruling, affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals, ordered Braaksma reinstated to her former position under the terms of her teaching contract, and remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with the high court’s opinion.
