BUTTE (AP)
Fired administrator Kathy Cannon should be reinstated "forthwith" to her post with the Butte school district, a judge has ruled. The decision by District Judge Kurt Krueger hands the district yet another defeat in a two-year battle over Cannon's nonrenewal as director of special education. Krueger's decision Wednesday follows a court hearing held in June and essentially reaffirms a previous ruling by an arbitrator. Superintendent Chuck Uggetti said he plans to call a meeting Tuesday to discuss the decision with the board and its options, which include giving Cannon her job back, with full back pay and benefits, or taking the matter to the state Supreme Court. Uggetti said the decision has implications for not only Butte, but other districts. "I think other districts are watching this to see how administrators are treated," he told the Montana Standard. The Butte school district is the only district in the state whose administrators are unionized. Cannon is represented by the Teamsters' Union. The case has had a long trip through various courts and procedures since Cannon filed a grievance over her dismissal in 2005. At the heart of the issue is Cannon's belief backed up by the arbitrator, and now Krueger that her tenure with the district did not end when she joined the administrative ranks. The district maintains that Cannon's tenure ceased when she became an administrator. In Butte, tenure is achieved with the fourth contract year, and Cannon had served many years in the district as a teacher before becoming special education director.
