Attorney Chris McCarty advised the Bradley County Board of Education not to appeal a judge’s order to rehire teacher Susan Elliot, who was dismissed in 2012.CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The Bradley County Board of Education has agreed not to appeal a judge’s order to rehire a teacher who was dismissed in 2012.
The school board voted 5-0 Wednesday to rehire Susan Elliot “without bias” after legal counsel Chris McCarty recommended the board not appeal the reversal order by Hamilton County Chancellor W. Frank Brown III last week. Brown’s decision also calls for the school system to provide back pay to Elliot.
Two board members, Rodney Dillard and Christy Critchfield, were absent from the special meeting.
Brown’s order would be given a standard of “presumption of correctness” and would put the board in the position of the underdog if it pursued an appeal, McCarty said.
“Because this case has gone back and forth, because you’re talking about taxpayer money, my recommendation … is I don’t think it’s worth the money,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the facts, nothing to do with the original decision — just the standard.”