The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday the Jefferson City Public School District was within its rights to terminate a contract with its technology coordinator in July 2019 after she transferred work files to her personal account.
The lawsuit was sparked when Tammy Ferry, instructional technology coordinator, was fired in 2019 after the district alleged she had violated student privacy by transferring work files to her personal Google account, which the district said could make student information vulnerable.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Jefferson City School District, writing: "Because Ms. Ferry effectuated a prohibited disclosure from the District to herself and violated a board policy and administrative procedure when she accessed and transferred confidential student information without a legitimate educational interest, the Board had the authority to terminate her contract."
The case had previously been heard in Cole County court, where Judge Jon Beetem ruled the district's firing of Ferry was illegal, and there was no evidence to show she had given any data to a third party. The ruling was that Ferry should be reinstated, and her pay and attorney's fees should be paid, a ruling later upheld in an appeals court.
Tuesday's decision from the Supreme Court contradicts that ruling.
Ferry had been the district's instructional technology coordinator for 11 years until her firing in 2019. According to the Supreme Court's factual and procedural background, Ferry told the district she was moving the files to her personal account for use in her discrimination suit.
Ferry had filed a separate lawsuit in April 2017, alleging retaliation, sex discrimination and a hostile work environment against the district, Superintendent Larry Linthacum and Director of Technology Joe Martin, her former supervisor.
That case has been repeatedly rescheduled and is currently set to start April 25.
The school district issued a statement Tuesday regarding the decision: "The Jefferson City School District is thankful the Missouri Supreme Court took up this incredibly important case. Our pursuit of this appeal has been a reflection of the district's commitment to protecting our students and their confidential student records.
"We feel strongly that the Court's ruling to uphold the Board of Education's decision is firmly in the best interest of our staff, students, and their families," the statement said.
Dennis Egan, co-counsel for Tammy Ferry, called the decision "distressing."
He cited the two previous court rulings, saying those rulings determined that sending files to yourself is not a disclosure to a third party. He said Ferry never showed the files to anyone, and the school's claims suggest "what was wrong with Tammy Ferry is that she had a lawsuit against the district."
He said he was considering filing a motion for reconsideration and was still considering his options.
Egan is also an attorney on Ferry's other, active lawsuit. He said this case does not change the issue for that trial, the motive for Ferry's firing.
"Did they fire her for retaliatory and discriminatory motives because she had a lawsuit?" he said.
The motive is still "open and at issue" and needs to be litigated, Egan said.