JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two teachers at two Jacksonville-area schools were suspended for five days without pay for using poor judgment, according to Duval County Public Schools.
The Duval County School Board on Monday evening approved the suspensions of Lisa Wilder, a first-grade teacher at Kernan Trail Elementary School, and Megan Taber, a teacher at Fletcher High School.
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A district investigation found that Wilder used poor judgment when she repeatedly cursed and used "inappropriate, profane and offensive language" in front of colleagues in June.
According to the investigation report, Wilder kept using the F-word when referring to some boxes containing games that she said were hers.
One teacher reported that Wilder said she would "take her out if she saw her on the street." That teacher also said that Wilder had told her in the past that she owns a couple of handguns.
According to the district, Wilder was given a written reprimand in May for using abusive language in an email sent to Kernan Trail Elementary staff, as well as a verbal reprimand for violating DCPS leave policy.
Last October, according to the district, Wilder was given a written reprimand for poor judgment and inappropriate communication in front of students. The district said she discussed an English Language Learner’s academic performance in the presence of other students, and she also addressed an ESE student in an inappropriate manner in front of students and adults.
Wilder was suspended for five days without pay.
The school board also approved the same disciplinary action for Taber after a district investigation, which began in April, found that she used poor judgment when she failed to follow established testing protocols during the 2016-17 school year.
District investigators said they discovered that when there were technical problems with the testing for Florida Virtue students, which was being held at Fletcher High, a reading coach at the high school moved her own daughter to another area for testing and didn't report it to the school.
According to investigative reports, her daughter was left in the media center, and Taber did not read her the test instructions or monitor her for time -- an accommodation that was not provided to other students.
The incident wasn't discovered until this year; otherwise, the district said, the girl's test would have been invalidated.
In addition to the suspensions, a letter of written reprimand will be placed in each teacher's personnel file.