Lesbian Coach Sues Utah School

It was bad enough when high school psychology and physical education teacher Wendy Weaver lost her job as a volleyball coach in July after school district officials learned she is a lesbian.

The next day, the district issued a vaguely worded memorandum warning Weaver, 40, that she also could lose her 17-year tenured teaching position at Spanish Fork High School if she spoke about her sexual orientation to anyone--on or off campus.

Weaver was shocked. Could she be fired for telling a colleague off campus that she had a date with her partner? Could she hold her hand in public?

Weaver on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in federal court here accusing Utah County’s Nebo School District, Supt. Dennis Poulsen, director of secondary education Larry Kimball, district director of human resources Almon L. Mosher and Spanish Fork High School Principal Robert Wadley of violating her constitutional rights to free expression, privacy and equal protection.

At a news conference organized by her lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union, Weaver--who led her volleyball team to back-to-back Utah state championships in 1993 and ‘94--said: “I’ve never been an activist. All I want is the right to live my private life as I choose.”

School district officials declined to discuss the lawsuit. In a telephone interview, Mosher would only say: “We expect our teachers to teach curriculum. We don’t expect them to bring personal matters into the classroom.

“Since this is a personnel issue, we have to protect her privacy,” he added. “So we’re a little bit at her mercy right now. She can say what she wants. We can’t.”

The response from gay and lesbian activists across the nation was immediate and blunt.

“Every American should be greatly concerned about this case,” said Kevin Jennings of the Gay/Straight Teachers Education Network.

“What’s happened to Wendy isn’t new--thousands of lesbians and gays live by these rules every day, only they are unspoken,” Jennings said. “But the school authorities had the temerity to put these rules in writing and demand that Wendy sign away her constitutional rights if she wished to keep her job.

“If Wendy loses, it establishes the right of an employer to reach into your life and tell you what you can say as a condition of your continued employment.”

Gay rights issues have always struck a dissonant cord in Utah. A year ago, the Salt Lake City Board of Education tried to squash a gay and lesbian high school club. Deciding that they could not eliminate one club without prohibiting all others, the officials issued a blanket ban that also ended the ski, chess, Frisbee and Bible clubs.

That same year, the Utah Legislature passed a law giving local school boards the ability to forbid clubs that “materially or substantially encourage criminal or delinquent conduct, promote bigotry or involve human sexuality.”

Nonetheless, gay and lesbian high school students have continued to meet at certain schools under a law that allows groups to rent space from a public school after hours.

Now, Weaver’s case is adding to the controversy.

“If the district doesn’t want a homosexual coach, they have a right to say no,” said Gayle Ruzicka, spokeswoman for the conservative Utah Eagle Forum. “The homosexual lifestyle is an immoral lifestyle. When [Weaver] is actively living that lifestyle, she is living and participating in immorality.”

The district first acted against Weaver after her ex-husband, Gary Weaver--a former teacher at Spanish Fork High--mentioned to some acquaintances that she is a lesbian.

The couple divorced in April. Since then, Weaver has shared a relationship and a home in the town of Salem with her partner.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday conceded that Weaver did mention her sexual preference to one of her students in early June.

She had been calling volleyball team members at the time to remind them of an upcoming camp. One of those students told Weaver that she would not be playing on the team in the coming year. When Weaver asked why, the student replied, “Can I ask you a question?”

Weaver said, “Sure.”

The student asked whether Weaver was a lesbian. She told her the truth.

“This conversation, not initiated by Weaver, not during school hours or on school property,” the lawsuit said, “is the only time Weaver has discussed her sexual orientation with a student.”

On July 21, Wadley signed a letter informing Weaver that “I will not be assigning you to coach volleyball this year.”

When Weaver asked the basis for that conclusion, Wadley allegedly told her that his “perception [of Weaver] had changed,” the lawsuit said. When Weaver asked him why she was not the same person he had known for eight years, he was silent.

The next day, she stood at attention in Mosher’s office as he read aloud the memorandum that seemed to prohibit her from telling anyone about her homosexuality anywhere.

“You are not to make comments, announcements or statements to students, staff members or parents of students regarding your homosexual orientation or lifestyle,” the memorandum said. “If students, staff members or parents of students ask about your sexual orientation or anything concerning the subject, you shall tell them that the subject is private and personal and inappropriate to discuss with them.”

And, it warned: “A violation of these requirements may jeopardize your job and be cause for termination.”

Weaver said she repeatedly asked for clarification. District officials refused, but advised her that the memorandum stands “as is,” the lawsuit said.

Prior to July 22, Weaver said she had never been the subject of any disciplinary action. Over the years, she has received positive evaluations from her peers and supervisors, she said.

“In all my years of service to the school district, I’ve never done anything to deserve this,” said Weaver. “I’m not ashamed of my sexuality and I believe they are discriminating against me because of that.”

“She’s the best thing that ever happened to Spanish Fork athletics,” Helen Hjorth, a 1994 graduate who now plays varsity volleyball at nearby Brigham Young University, told Associated Press. “There was no reason to fire her except for her personal lifestyle, and I think that’s pretty lame,” Hjorth said. “People who know Wendy know she would never do anything.”