The second day of the hearing surrounding Lowndes County School District teacher Melissa Suddith’s ability to keep her job has drawn to an end after three more witnesses testified on the non-renewal of her contract Thursday morning.
A total of more than 10 witnesses, including Suddith, gave their testimonies over the past two days.
The hearing will remain open, said hearing officer Perry Sansing, until the hearing transcripts are finished and lawyers representing Suddith and the school district file all the briefs. No more oral arguments will be presented.
Following a tentative schedule, the hearing will officially conclude on July 20, Sansing said, after which he will make a recommendation for the board to consider when deciding whether to uphold the non-renewal. The board will have 30 days, starting from the day after the hearing concludes, to make a decision, he said.
Suddith’s contract was non-renewed in April, an action she believed to be retaliatory following a series of grievances she had filed over the past two years and a lawsuit she jointly filed with two other teachers — Norma Sanders and Anne Richardson — against the school board.
But Jeff Smith, LCSD board attorney, argued on both days that Suddith’s non-renewal did not result from her complaints against former school officials.
Sanders, who also filed grievances against former school administrators over the years, testified Thursday. She said she believed district officials retaliated against Suddith, Richardson and her and threatened “various courses of actions” in multiple letters if they pursued their bullying grievances.
“We were scared we were going to get fired, because we were warned that if we continued to do that, we would lose our positions,” she said.
Sanders said Smith, who cross-examined her as the board attorney, was also among those she filed grievances against and felt threatened by during email exchanges presented Wednesday. She teared up multiple times during Smith’s questioning on Thursday.
Smith denied he ever threatened Sanders or Suddith in those letters. Regarding the hearing, he said he thinks Suddith’s arguments didn’t hold water because all those who “bullied” her are no longer with the district — including former superintendent Lynn Wright, former assistant superintendent Robert Byrd and former Caledonia High School principal Andy Stevens.
“This lady is basically saying, ‘The men that bullied and didn’t want me to teach are the reason I’m being fired,'” he said. “This is perhaps as strong a case (of non-renewal) as I’ve seen.”
Suddith’s lawyer, Preston Rideout of Greenwood, offered no comment other than he appreciated the chance to present his arguments in a public setting. Suddith could not be reached for comment by press time.
Yue Stella Yu was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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