HAMLIN – A longtime teacher and principal has sued the Lincoln County Board of Education and others alleging they conspired to suspend and later fire him.
Tab Mathis filed his complaint March 8 in Lincoln Circuit Court against the school board, outgoing Superintendent Jeff Kelley, Assistant Superintendent Josh Brumfield, Paula Staley and Polly Smith.
According to the complaint, Mathis worked as a teacher and school administrator for nearly all of his adult life in Wayne and Lincoln counties. In early 2021, he was principal of Lincoln County High School.
Hoosier
The state Board of Education had declared a state of emergency in Lincoln County in November 2020 to provide additional support to address persistent deficiencies in the county system.
In early January 2021, during one of his first meetings with Kelley, Mathis says Kelley told him he would “fire his ass.” Mathis had no prior history with Kelley.
On March 30, 2021, there was an emergency situation at LCHS involving a minor student. At the end of the “stressful day,” Mathis says he received a voice mail from Staley, who had been contracted by the state BOE and/or Department of Education to provide services at Guyan Valley Middle School. Mathis said he and Staley had a “rocky history” for decades, dating back to when they both were principals at different school in their native Wayne County.
Staley told Mathis she was making changes at LCHS. Mathis says he was confused because she was at GVMS because of major problems at that school.
“Plaintiff told her that she was not hired to make changes to his school and that he would run his school however the f**k he saw fit,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff and Staley then got into a verbal altercation over the phone.
“Staley thereafter contacted Kelley and/or Josh Brumfield to report plaintiff. Staley then accused plaintiff of being drunk … while he was working at LCHS.”
Kelley suspended Mathis the next day without a hearing. Mathis says Kelley and Brumfield also searched his office without notice.
The complaint also says Kelley and Brumfield tried to have another LCHS employee who had been accused of drinking at school to testify against Mathis in exchange for a lesser suspension and not fire him for allegedly having alcohol at school. That employee refused to do so, and allegedly hired an attorney.
Then, Mathis says Kelley and Brumfield again searched his office, opening locked cabinets and drawers to remove unused plastic cups that had been obtained for a staff party, used plastic cups and other storage containers. He says they again accused him of drinking on the job.
On April 26, 2021, Mathis says he received a due process letter from Kelley and Brumfield, nearly a month after he had been suspended and weeks after his locked cabinet had been broken into with a crowbar.
Mathis claims Kelley and Brumfield had decided to terminate him by then, and Staley had told LCHS and Lincoln County BOE employees she was going to start training Smith, an assistant principal at LCHS, as the new principal.
Then, Mathis says an allegation of sexual harassment surfaced against him.
“Plaintiff, who had not stepped foot in LCHS since at least March 30, 2021, was accused of sexually harassing ‘a cook’ around May 14, 2021,” the complaint states.
On June 17, 2021, Mathis was told a LCHS cook had made the allegations. The notice said Mathis had made comments to a cook about her appearance, questioned a cook about food (hot dogs) and asked the cook to stay after school.
In September 2021, the county board asked Mathis to resign and forgo any legal action in exchange for no consideration whatsoever. He rejected that offer. A few weeks later, the board extended Mathis’ suspension until October 19, 2021. He still hadn’t had a hearing on the issue.
Following an October 18, 2021, hearing. Mathis was terminated the next day.
Just before the hearing, Mathis says he learned the sexual harassment allegations were made by longtime cook Tonya Linville, who had accused Mathis of winking at her, talking about a hot dog and allegedly asking her to stay after work so he could “show her something.”
At the hearing, Linville did testify Mathis made her nervous. But Mathis notes she never complained to him or anyone else about him. She also testified Mathis never requested she engage in any illegal actions, never made her job conditioned on any alleged harassment, never asked her to engage in any sexual acts and never touched her inappropriately.
“In fact, Linville would always come up to plaintiff and serve him with his lunch,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff never observed Linville try to avoid him at any time.
“Linville was in fear of losing her job due to absenteeism. Polly Smith was serving as interim principal after plaintiff was suspended. Polly Smith was told by Staley that she would be principal after plaintiff was fired. Thus, both Polly Smith and Linville had reason to file alleged sexual harassment charges against plaintiff.”
Also, “multiple employees – both male and female – testified that plaintiff always winks at everyone, and it is part of his personality. Plaintiff testified that he often – by habit – just winks as a way to greet people, both male and female.”
Mathis also denies he made any improper hot dog comments.
He accuses the defendants of violations of the West Virginia Human Rights Act, violations of substantial public policy, outrage, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of express and implied contract, negligent hiring, retention and training as well as civil conspiracy.
Mathis seeks compensatory damages for lost wages, lost benefits, mental and emotional distress, punitive damages, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
He is being represented by D. Adrian Hoosier II of The Hoosier Law Firm in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jay Hoke.
Earlier this week, Kelley resigned as the county superintendent to take a job with the West Virginia Department of Education as the Officer of Educational Accountability. He had been superintendent since May 2020, having taken the job when Lincoln County was under review by the state BOE. He previously was principal at St. Albans High School in Kanawha County for 10 years and four more years as an assistant principal.
Lincoln Circuit Court case number 23-C-13