Aug 14, 2009 6:08 am US/Eastern
NJ Teacher Docked $23,000 For Phone Call
Asbury Park Teacher To Pay Bigtime For 4-Minute Call Made During Class; Video Posted On YouTube By Student
ASBURY PARK, N.J. (CBS) ―
It's a zero-tolerance policy at Asbury Park High School -- no personal calls in class.
But as CBS 2 HD found out on Thursday, a teacher who broke the rules is paying a really hefty price.
The teacher made the four-minute cell phone call last year during class. That call has cost her $23,000 as a result of the district taking her to court.
Desly Getty, an English and performing arts teacher at Asbury Park High, was suspended without pay for 120 days after a student videotaped other kids dancing as she spoke on the phone, and then posted it on YouTube.
Corey Goodson, a student, said Getty is a mentor and that docking her pay is outrageous.
"She's a really smart teacher. She helps the kids out a lot," Goodson said.
Getty, who lives in a gated community, was not available for comment. Her attorney said she made the call in class to get advice from a former superintendent on how to help out a troubled student.
He also said Getty wants to leave this behind and looks forward to going back to school.
Officials won't say what it cost to take Getty to court, but the current interim superintendent said, "The district did what it felt was appropriate based on the incident."
Residents said that's one bad use of taxpayer dollars.
"I don't what it cost the district to litigate this, but they could have spent the money on other things. We have a lot of kids with special needs," Christina Holman said.
Calvin Roman said he knows the superintendent who was in charge at the time.
"He's really strict. He sticks to his guns, but I know he usually has the best intentions," Roman said.
Getty's attorney and the current interim superintendent, who was not a part of this when it was taken to court, did not want to go on camera.
In fact, starting Friday, the district will have a brand new superintendent.
Getty's attorney also said while his client was disciplined, the students who were dancing and the one who posted the video on YouTube were not.
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