Additional Information has come out about the art teacher allegedly fired for taking her students to an art museum. This teacher is going to eventually wish she hadn't made this all public. Here is another article:


CHERYL DIAZ MEYER / DMN

Frisco ISD officials say parents have complained about Sydney McGee before

FRISCO – Was a Frisco art teacher pushed out of a job over a flap about nude art, or is the national media spotlight shining in the wrong place?

The case has spawned national squabbles over religion, politics and art. Not to mention stereotypes about conservative Texas.

At issue is Sydney McGee's contention that the school district plans not to renew her contract at Fisher Elementary School after a parent complained that a student saw a nude sculpture during a field trip to the Dallas Museum of Art.

Frisco ISD officials ­ who have been contacted by 16 media outlets including Inside Edition and The New York Times since the case surfaced ­ say she is using the trip to take attention off other performance issues.

Personnel records released this week show the 28-year veteran teacher was paid to leave McKinney ISD after parents complained about her in 1998, a few years before she came to neighboring Frisco.

Ms. McGee's attorney, Rogge Dunn, spoke on her behalf, saying he didn't know anything about the deal with McKinney until approached by The Dallas Morning News on Wednesday. He said he couldn't comment on it until he reviewed it.

"I don't know what her performance in McKinney eight years ago has to do with the issues at hand," Mr. Dunn said.

The Morning News obtained Ms. McGee's personnel record from McKinney ISD through a public information request. A similar filing is pending in Frisco ISD.

The records show that Ms. McGee signed a settlement agreement for nearly $8,300 with McKinney ISD in 1998 to end her employment as a second grade teacher at Glen Oaks Elementary School.

Under the arrangement, Ms. McGee received a positive recommendation from the district. McKinney officials declined to comment on the report Wednesday.

The records do not indicate the reason behind the settlement agreement, but her file contains letters from parents who asked that their children be removed from her class because of personality and learning issues.

Her file also contains complaints from unidentified teachers about planning and field trip preparation issues.

Frisco ISD Superintendent Rick Reedy said Wednesday his district wasn't aware of any problems in McKinney until a recent talk radio report.

Dr. Reedy announced last week that he planned to recommend that the district not renew Ms. McGee's contract. That comes a month after the school board denied her request at a public hearing Aug. 21 to transfer to another school.

Ms. McGee, who is on leave with pay, asked for a transfer after she received a series of directives about her performance, including the parent's complaint about the trip. Spotty lesson plans, professional conduct and classroom art displays were also mentioned in those directives.

Ms. McGee says she never received a negative review or criticisms in Frisco until after she took the 89 fifth-graders to the museum in April.

Her lawyer displayed copies of some positive reviews on Wednesday.

The district maintains there were e-mails and verbal directives about her performance before the trip and that other concerns were put in writing at Ms. McGee's request.

When asked Wednesday why he made the decision, Dr. Reedy replied: "I don't feel it is appropriate to comment on that at this time, although I would say that matters came to a head during and after the Aug. 21 hearing."

Mr. Dunn said the district is violating his client's First Amendment rights by punishing her for speaking out in the media after the hearing.

"This case is not merely about Sydney McGee," Mr. Dunn said. "It's about a teacher broadening kids' horizons by taking them to a museum."

Frisco's lawyers say she isn't protected under the First Amendment because she spoke out about her own employment situation, rather than broader education issues.

Jennifer King said Wednesday she and other fifth-grade teachers who went on the field trip later told their principal it was chaotic and disorganized.

Ms. King said Ms. McGee didn't properly prepare the students for the art they would see or the etiquette involved in going to an art museum.

"Kids are kids and they may snicker a little bit over what they were seeing, but if they had been prepared, this wouldn't have been an issue," Ms. King said.

Since Ms. McGee's case hit the media, Ms. King said staff members at Fisher feel overwhelmed by the negative attention to the school.

Gail Davitt, the museum's education director, said 50,000 school children go through the museum in any given year. The museum has never received complaints from parents in the past, she said.

"I would say the material here is appropriate for anyone at this point ­ definitely for fifth-grade students," Ms. Davitt said.

Pam Laux said her daughter enjoyed the trip to the museum. She said both her son and daughter can't understand why Ms. McGee is no longer in a classroom. Her daughter asked whether she could make T-shirts to support Ms. McGee.

"I don't know why she was reprimanded or the basis of the whole [nonrenewal]," Ms. Laux said. "I know she did well for my kids."