Posted on 03/10/2006 1:01:32 AM PST by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
Overland High School teacher Jay Bennish could be back in the classroom Monday, his attorney predicted Thursday after a 90-minute meeting with school district administrators and attorneys.
Whether that comes to pass will be decided today, when Bennish and his attorney, David Lane, sit down one final time with Cherry Creek Schools administrators to learn whether any action will be taken against the teacher for a Feb. 1 classroom lecture.
In that lecture, Bennish compared President Bush to Adolf Hitler, questioned U.S. foreign and drug policy and suggested that capitalism was "at odds" with human compassion.
"I'm guaranteeing you that if they fire him, or suspend him, or take a paycheck from him, that will very likely result in a trial in federal court where the whole issue at the trial would be, did they fire him for the content of his speech or did they fire him based on a policy violation?" Lane said.
School district administrators declined to comment after the meeting.
Lane said that Bennish would not apologize.
"Jay has said to the administration here that if he could do it all over again, what he needs to do in the future is be giving both sides more contemporaneously," Lane said. "When he gives the yin, give the yang right then and there - don't wait a day, don't wait an hour, don't wait a week. Put it all out at the same time."
Bennish, 28, has been under scrutiny for more than a week, ever since student Sean Allen made public a 21-minute, 40-second recording of part of the teacher's lecture the day after Bush's State of the Union speech. After hearing the recording, school district officials concluded that Bennish's comments appeared to be inappropriate and that he may have violated a district policy requiring teachers to present balanced viewpoints when teaching controversial subjects.
After Bennish appeared on national television Tuesday, the school district received several new calls detailing unspecified complaints. That led administrators to extend their investigation.
Bennish and Lane arrived at the district's administration building, 4700 S. Yosemite St., a little before 2 p.m. Thursday.
Bennish smiled at a throng of reporters and photographers, said he wished people would respect his privacy, and entered the building without commenting.
Inside, they met with Superintendent Monte Moses, assistant superintendents Mary Chesley and Steve McGrath, and district lawyers Richard Banta and Amanda Hesterman.
When he and Lane emerged a little after 3:30 p.m., Bennish again declined to comment, except to thank those who have offered him support.
Lane, however, said the meeting had gone well. He said Bennish was asked about fewer than a dozen new complaints that "were of such a minor nature as to be almost laughable."
For example, one parent complained that Bennish had once played a song by Spearhead that included obscenities, and that he had played an R-rated movie in class called Black Robe about colonialism.
"There were fewer, literally, than a dozen issues like this," Lane said.
According to Lane, Bennish reiterated his commitment to school district policies and outlined for administrators the ways he has brought balance to his classroom.
For example, he said, Bennish presented the cartoons that have caused such an uproar in the Muslim world.
One day, Lane said, Bennish touched on the Islamic perspective. The next day, Bennish "put out the basic Western liberal line about, you know, this is a free society, everything is fair game, why would you have a religion that is based on peace and love going out and killing people over some cartoons?"
They won't do a damn thing to him . ACLU will have a battery of lawyers working for him if they do and the school won't want to go there. Sad part is ,I'm sure the school principal and BOE out there agree with this moron's rantings anyway .
Is the same dumb ass lawyer that treated the student on Fox like a idiot. The idiot lawyer should be sued and disbarred for being an anti-American idiot if this is the same one who was on TV.
Gee, I didn't know that it was a line.
And last I looked libs were the ones arguing that the toons shouldn't be published.
I hope someone is taping him when he gives the alternative view.
I agree fully, the NEA was founded on Commie principles and this sure qualifies. Amen.
"When the NEA gets its way, we can expect the US to "fall like an over ripe fruit"."
There is still strong hope, the US is now up to about 2.1 million home schoolers and the number is growing at about 15% to 20% per year and there is nothing the NEA can do to stop it. Amen.
No they'll just ban recordings now. If this wasn't recorded it would still be going on.
From some of the comments I have heard from Bennish, he has hinted that he did give the yin and yang during the class but Sean ONLY taped what supported his accusation.
Is his attorney now admitting that he did not????
The attorney can say what he wants but my guess is the BOE has addressed this situation.
Personally I think it was enough to get his canned.
Can they legally ban taping? That might set off a whole new round of arguing.
"There is still strong hope, the US is now up to about 2.1 million home schoolers and the number is growing at about 15% to 20% per year and there is nothing the NEA can do to stop it. Amen."
As it continues to grow and take money away from the schools the NEA is taking notice. There have already been back door attempts in CA to "regulate" homeschoolers to the point it can't be done.
The moonbats love to yelp about Dubya's "smirk" -- but there that Jay B, he has such a smirk it smirks from here to Kansas. His whole body language: NPR condescending maximus. Sculptors take note -- it's almost a perfect depiction of smug know-it-all arrogance.
What a smart @ss, "It didn't take."
As if comparing Bush to Hitler is even a rationale viewpoint. Only a delusional ignoramus can compare the slaughter of 6 million people because they were Jewish to putting underwear on prisoners heads or listening to foreign communications.
"the US is now up to about 2.1 million home schoolers "
My daughter, now 23, started in Montessori school, about age 3 or 4, then was in private schools till she was 15.
Faced with having to change to a public school, she quit, and started teaching herself.
While the GED is probably no great indication, she did score in the top 2 percent of the US, when she took it at age 19.
Too late!
They let the kids carry cellphones, and we ALL know the capabilities of THESE devices!
Good for her!
Bennish's punishment will consist of time served in the tortured status of being on several days or even a couple of weeks of paid extra vacation.
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