Dix

JOHN DAY — Former Grant Union Jr/Sr. High School ag teacher Wayne Suchorski has filed a lawsuit in Grant County Circuit Court against the Grant School District, former Superintendent Louis Dix and former Grant Union Principals Karen Shelton and Ryan Gerry, alleging that his termination was a retaliatory move by the district.

Suchorski is seeking $1.5 million in compensation for lost wages, damage to his professional reputation, emotional distress and legal fees.

Suchorski was fired from his position as Grant Union’s agricultural science teacher following an April 19, 2023, executive session of the Grant School Board, in which Suchorski participated. His termination came after a 4-3 vote by the board in open session.

The board considered three other possible reasons for termination. Two potential causes — neglect of duties and inadequate performance — did not receive motions for a vote. A motion to fire Suchorski for failure to comply wih a performance improvement plan failed on a 3-4 vote.

Complaint claims retaliationAccording to his civil complaint against the district, Suchorski’s claim of retaliation stems from an October 2019 incident in which he alleges that former Grant Union Principal Ryan Gerry took steel from the high school’s shop to use at his home without paying for the material.

The complaint says Suchorski reported this incident to the Grant School District prior to the start of his employment contract in 2020.

In October 2021, Gerry placed Suchorski on administrative leave with pay pending an investigation. The complaint says that Gerry was investigating allegations of abuse pertaining to Suchorski and that the investigation was unfounded as multiple law enforcement agencies cleared him of any wrongdoing.

The complaint goes on to characterize Gerry’s investigation as retaliation for Suchorski’s reporting of him stealing materials from the school.

Suchorski presented evidence of Gerry’s retaliatory acts to the Grant School Board at its Feb. 16, 2022, meeting, according to the complaint, and Gerry resigned nine days later.

The complaint alleges that in June of 2022, before leaving as the principal of Grant Union, Gerry placed Suchorski on a plan of action following his year-end evaluation. That plan of action was retaliatory, according to the complaint, as Suchorski alleges that he was never informed of poor performance by the school district or Gerry himself.

The complaint alleges that Gerry never documented any evidence of deficiencies that would warrant a plan of action, but that Gerry did make a report to the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission about Suchorski’s alleged misconduct. Suchorski was only made aware of the report to the TSPC after the commission informed him that it would be taking no action concerning the report.

The complaint alleges that retaliation against Suchorski continued under new Grant Union Principal Karen Shelton. Suchorski filed several complaints against Shelton with both the Grant School Board and the Teacher Practices and Standards Commission, claiming that she lied about him during his professional evaluation in January of 2023.

The complaint alleges that Suchorski’s complaints were never followed up on.

Confusion prior to terminationThe complaint alleges that on Feb. 8, 2023, Suchorski was granted leave to attend his son’s basketball game at the end of that week. Shelton reversed her approval, according to the complaint, denying his leave request and subsequently scheduling a meeting with Suchorski to review his plan of action on the same day as his son’s basketball game took place.

Five days later, on Feb. 13, the complaint alleges that Suchorski had informed Shelton that he’d be leaving during prep period and lunchtime for a doctor’s appointment. That afternoon, a letter was mailed to Suchorski that the complaint alleges was backdated to Feb. 10, informing him that Dix and Shelton were going to recommend to the Grant School Board that his employment be terminated.

During this time, the complaint says, Suchorski submitted paperwork to go on leave under the Oregon Family Leave Act, citing stress from the retaliation as the cause of major health problems.

The complaint alleges that Suchorski received Shelton and Dix’s Feb. 13 letter on Feb. 16. Dix then sent a letter to Suchorski dated April 20, informing him of his termination.

The letter however, was postmarked April 27 and was received by Suchorski on April 30, according to the complaint. The complaint alleges that the letter was a way to establish a pretext for Suchorski’s termination was pretextual for unlawful termination and discrimination for Suchorski’s participation in OFLA-protected leave.

On April 20, the complaint states, Vice Principal Andy Lusco entered Suchorski’s classroom and insisted that he had to leave school grounds as he had been fired. The complaint states that Suchorski attempted to clarify that he was supposed to finish out the rest of his employment contract, to which Lusco responded that he needed to speak with then-Superintendent Dix.

Suchorski was ultimately fired on April 20, 2023, and was not allowed to finish out his teaching contract.

Suchorski is being represented by Randy Harvey of Sherwood-based Employment Law Professionals Northwest LLC. Karen M. Vickers of Vickers Plass LLC in Lake Oswego is representing the Grant School District and the three named defendants in the case.

Neither attorney immediately returned phone calls seeking comment for this story.

The current superintendent of the Grant School District, Mark Witty, acknowledged that the district is aware of the lawsuit but declined to comment on an active legal case.