Court voids firing of McKeesport teacher over sex in school
Angela DiBattista could get her job back in McKeesport Area School District, with back pay, if court's decision stands
A school teacher who admitted she had sex with another teacher inside a classroom won an appeals decision on Tuesday overturning her firing.
Angela DiBattista had an "implied agreement" from the McKeesport Area School District, in western Pennsylvania, that gave her immunity when she admitted the conduct during a 2005 employment hearing about the other teacher, Patrick Collins, Commonwealth Court said.
Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer said there was testimony to support the conclusion that DiBattista believed she would not be punished if she testified during the arbitration hearing regarding Collins, who was facing allegations he physically abused her.
"The surrounding circumstances show that ... the parties mutually intended that if (she) agreed to testify she would have no concern or fear that any district action would be brought against her as a result of such cooperation," the judge wrote.
Court records indicate that the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review learned of her testimony and wrote about it in December 2005. It was then she was suspended and later fired.
The school district's lawyer, Carl Beard, said he was "really shocked" at the decision and planned to discuss whether to appeal with the school board and superintendent. He said if the decision stands DiBattista would be eligible for back pay and reinstatement.
DiBattista's lawyer, Philip Fabiano, said she has been working outside the education field.
"She wants to teach," said Fabiano, who had not read the decision. "I think at this point she'd be happy to teach anywhere, including the McKeesport Area School District."
Collins did not lose his job over the claims he had physically abused DiBattista, but after the classroom sex disclosure he faced discipline and the district agreed to let him retire early.
Collins testified during DiBattista's hearing that they had sex in classrooms on several occasions but never when students were present. Their affair apparently lasted about six years but ended on the last day of school in 2004, when DiBattista's eye was injured in the school during an altercation between them.
She was described in court records as an elementary teacher, but at the time she was suspended she was teaching at Cornell Intermediate School.
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.