Trial date set for former Neosho substitute teacher's lawsuit against Decker, R-5 District

A September 10 trial date has been scheduled at U. S. District Court in Springfield for a lawsuit filed by a former Neosho R-5 substitute teacher who claims she was fired after saying in two classes that she did not support the district's bond issue to build a new junior high school.

Dee-Anna Marcoux is suing the district, Superintendent Dan Decker, Penmac Staffing Services and Nancy Kenney of Penmac.

In her lawsuit, which was filed in February in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Marcoux says she had only answered students who questioned her about whether she supported the bond issue and that she had told them she did not, but they would have to make up their own minds.


During that same time period, the petition says, district teachers and staff were wearing yellow t-shirts that said, "Building Neosho's Future- It's Time," and that a student sent an e-mail to all students using the district server saying, "It has been a fun run trying to get yes votes," and thanking students who supported the bond issue.

After that, the petition claims, Decker called her into his office and accused her of insubordination and of telling students "not to vote for the bond issue."

It was not long after that she was removed from Neosho schools' substitute list and her employer, Penmac Staffing Services, removed her from the automated system, AESOP, used by school districts, including Neosho, to staff substitute teachers.

Marcoux claims her First Amendment right to freedom of speech was violated, that she suffered lost wages and emotional distress.