Apr. 3—Santa Fe Public Schools is appealing the August outcome of a whistleblower civil case in which a jury awarded a former high school assistant principal nearly $800,000 after finding district officials had retaliated against her when she pushed for an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by student athletes.
Santa Fe High Assistant Principal Kelly Rinaldi filed a lawsuit in 2020 under the New Mexico Whistleblower Protection Act, alleging she had drawn officials' ire in 2017 by insisting they investigate members of the school's basketball team who had been accused of engaging in sexual activity with a teen girl and creating photos and video of the incident.
Jurors in late August agreed district officials had created a hostile working environment for Rinaldi and declined to renew her contract for the 2019-20 school year in response to her efforts to initiate an investigation.
In November, the district filed an appeal with the New Mexico Court of Appeals challenging multiple decisions by state District Judge Bryan Biedscheid before and during the eight-day trial, including his denial of the district's motion for summary judgment.
The motion had raised questions about whether the Whistleblower Protection Act protects workers from a hostile work environment and whether the law would allow a plaintiff to introduce evidence of alleged retaliation involving incidents that occurred prior to the two-year statute of limitations.
The appeal asks the appellate court...
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