By Susan C. Moeller / Senior Reporter

LYNDHURST (Nov. 5, 2009, 10:30 a.m.) — It’s been more than six months since The Leader first reported about John Blevis, a tenured teacher in the Lyndhurst School District. Blevis hasn’t spent a day in the classroom for six semesters, but the taxpayers of Lyndhurst, through the district’s board of education, continue to pay him.

The paychecks haven’t stopped coming since the original Leader report in April, but a couple of new facts have emerged.

Blevis, whose yearly salary is $97,965, was suspended with pay from his position as a science teacher at Lyndhurst High School in January 2007 because he refused the district’s request that he submit to a psychological and physical evaluation.

The school district asked for the tests after Blevis’ relationships with staff members “deteriorated,” according to a decision rendered by the state commissioner of education in 2007. The district complained, the decision contends, that Blevis allegedly taped conversations with other staff members, talked to himself and demeaned female staff members.

Blevis refused to be tested, and the board suspended him with pay shortly afterward.

The state commissioner of education and an administrative law judge upheld the board of education’s request for psychological and physical examinations, but Blevis still refused to comply, filing an appeal with the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division.

Because Blevis, who has 20 years teaching experience, is tenured, the district can’t dismiss him without filing tenure charges. The process is expensive, Superintendent of Schools Joseph Abate said during an interview in April, estimating the cost at between $100,000 and $200,000.

Districts also are not guaranteed that the commissioner of education, who decides all tenure cases, will side with them. In 2008, the commissioner considered 18 tenure cases. Nine employees were ultimately dismissed; two employees resigned; four had their cases referred back to the court system for further consideration; and three teachers won their cases and continued to be employed by the districts that attempted to fire them, according to public records.

The Lyndhurst Board of Education opted not to file tenure charges against Blevis in 2007, so the suspension with pay stands while the courts wrestle with the district’s and Blevis’ allegations.

“We are pursuing the route of determining his status both mentally and physically, simply to make a determination whether he can teach or not,” Abate said in a recent phone interview.

In September, the Appellate Court denied Blevis’ appeal, siding with the district and the commissioner of education in its determination that the board of education can compel Blevis to submit to psychological and physical testing.

A tentative date for the tests has been set for Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Case by case...

A few days after the Appellate Court decision, U.S. District Court Judge Jose Linares rendered an opinion about the merits of a separate Blevis suit in federal court. In it, Blevis claims that the board of education, and four current or former employees, including Abate, retaliated against him professionally because of his “whistle blowing” activities in calling attention to alleged safety and academic problems at Lyndhurst High School.

Linares dismissed some of Blevis’ claims, but also allowed certain aspects of the case to move forward.

According to Linares’ September opinion, Blevis has “continued to raise safety concerns about Lyndhurst High School,” including reports of improper chemical storage and water leaks in the chemical closet.

Blevis also alleged that Abate and others told him to change the grade of a student athlete, according to court documents.

There are enough “questions of fact” in Blevis’ allegation that he was the object of retaliation in the workplace to allow a jury to hear the case, Linares determined, choosing not to dismiss that portion of Blevis’ lawsuit.

For his part, Abate denies the allegation that he asked for a grade to be changed. And, Abate is confident that the district will prevail in federal court as it has at the state level.

“I think that the strength of our case is obvious,” since several of Blevis’ claims were dismissed by Linares, Abate added.

...by case by case...

The current federal case is not Blevis’ first attempt to tag Lyndhurst schools with a retaliation charge under the Conscientious Employees Act. He also filed suit in 2003. But, “the lawsuit was resolved in a voluntary dismissal with prejudice by Blevis on June 30, 2005,” according to Linares’ September opinion.

Blevis’ attorney did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

The next step in the federal courts is a settlement hearing, scheduled for Friday, Nov. 13.