OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — A former employee at the Oklahoma State Department of Education says she was wrongfully terminated for her public comments at a school board meeting.
“I felt compelled to speak about something near and dear to my heart, child and adolescent mental health,” said Janessa Bointy.
Janessa Bointy spoke for roughly 2 minutes during the March 6th Edmond Public Schools Board of Education meeting. She worked in the mental health field as a school counselor specialist for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. She says, though, it was her role as an Edmond Public Schools parent that brought her to the meeting after a student died.
“I didn’t think anything else of it,” said Bointy. “I definitely didn’t think I did anything wrong. I still don’t feel like I did anything that would put my job in jeopardy.”
On March 9th, after an Oklahoma City news station used her public comments in a story, Bointy was fired.
“I was absolutely shocked,” said Bointy. “It was unbelievable. It didn’t even feel like it was real at the time.”
The termination paperwork says she was let go for a breach of her confidentiality agreement, violation of OSDE’s media policy, and the improper use of time and leave. Her lawyer, Leah Roper, says her termination is a violation of law.
“I think the state is using their policies to control what private people are saying and this is what is prohibited by the first amendment,” said Leah Roper.
It’s the reason they’ve filed a tort claim in anticipation of suing the OSDE. Bointy says as the primary breadwinner for her family, her loss of work has had a huge toll.
“This is a job that I loved, and I’m passionate about, but it’s also my livelihood,” said Bointy.
She says she feels like she was targeted for speaking at the meeting and specifically speaking about mental health.
“I 100% believe people that are doing this work are being targeted,” said Bointy.
In a statement through Press Secretary Justin Holcomb, the Oklahoma State Department of Education said, "These legal claims are absurd, frivolous, and a waste of taxpayer time and money. It’s a political stunt with no legal merit.”
Bointy is asking for at least $10,000 in compensation. When asked if she wanted her job back, she said, “Under the current administration, under the current leadership I wouldn’t accept a position back.”
Bointy says she didn’t share any of the department’s confidential information during her public comments at the school board meeting. She also says she didn’t do an interview with the news station.
For the improper use of time and leave, Bointy says that was a misunderstanding from last year, that happened once and for which she was already disciplined.
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