Attorneys for former accused schoolteacher Tonya Craft may appeal to the state for the Chickamauga school board’s decision to fire her after she was criminally charged in 2008.
“She has her teaching license, but not her job,” said Clancy Covert, one of Craft’s attorneys. “We’re looking into it to see if she should be compensated. We think she should be.”
Craft was acquitted of 22 counts of child molestation charges in Catoosa County Superior Court in May.
But Chickamauga School Superintendent Melody Day said Craft was not fired from her kindergarten job at Chickamauga Elementary School because of her criminal charges.
“The charges came against her and she never contacted the school,” Day said.
Craft’s position was terminated because she didn’t show up for classes or contact the office until several weeks into the 2008 school year, she said. Under the terms of her criminal bond, Craft also couldn’t be around children under 18 years old, Day said.
Craft didn’t abandon her job, Covert said. She asked to be placed on administrative leave but her request was denied, he said.
“We completely disagree with (Day),” he said.
Craft was charged in May 2008, and a city school board tribunal voted to fire her on Aug. 15, 2008, Times Free Press archives show. Day said at the time of the firing that Craft was let go because her bond prohibited her from doing her job.
But the point may be moot, one state official said. Under Georgia law, a teacher is required to make an appeal to the State Board within 30 days of the decision of the local board of education, said Matt Cardoza, a Georgia Department of Education spokesman in an e-mail. He said he does not know of any appeal older than 30 days that the state board has accepted to review.
Craft’s teaching certificate is still intact. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission said there was probable cause for Craft’s certificate to be revoked after she was charged. But once she was found not guilty, the commission dismissed the case, leaving her license intact.
Craft also has a pending $25 million lawsuit in Georgia federal court against her accusers and the government agencies that were involved in the criminal investigation against her.