CHESAPEAKE SCHOOLS, TEACHER SHOULD SETTLE SOL SUIT

The Virginian-Pilot
September 25, 2002

SOL suit If Chesapeake public school officials are looking for the fairest, most reasonable outcome, they should settle the lawsuit filed by teacher Frederick P. Bisogno in Chesapeake Circuit Court. He's seeking $15,000 plus legal fees and punitive damages.

Bisogno, a teacher at Oscar Smith High School during the 2000-01 school year, was swept up in a Standards of Learning controversy. Separate incidents forced the resignations of several Chesapeake teachers. He helped to devise a practice test that was later deemed too similar to actual SOL questions.

School officials suspended Bisogno for several months, and a panel later recommended he be reinstated without back pay. He now teaches history at Hickory High School.

However, copies of letters between school officials and Bisogno suggested that his pay over the suspended period would be placed in escrow pending the resolution of his case. Attorneys from both sides, no doubt, will argue the merits of what was or was not promised, and whether the panel's recommendation is binding.

The school division should take the high ground and settle the case, even if for less than the $15,000 sought by Bisogno. Teachers who prepared their students for the SOLs were given vague, imprecise rules. How much help was too much? Remember, teachers were under tremendous pressure to boost SOL scores. They still face that pressure.

Nor was it Bisogno's fault that one of the actual tests that the state sent to Oscar Smith High School was identical to one given the previous semester.

Both parties should try to settle this case and learn from their mistakes. And city and state school officials must continue to make the rules clear on SOL preparation.