MILWAUKEE, WI — A fired science teacher hoping to get his job back must wait for a state Supreme Court decision before he can hope for a resolution to what is proving to be an increasingly complex employment situation.Removed from his position at Cedarburg High School after being accused by a staff member of viewing adult materials on a school computer for about one minute last November, Robert Zellner contested the firing, taking his grievance to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.
That court, in turn, has requested that the state Supreme Court make a judgment on the case regarding whether the 1500 images found on the computer are public record and, as such, can be handed over to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The newspaper had placed an open records request asking for a CD with copies of the images, which had been recovered thanks to an expert hired by the school to examine the computer and retrieve the data. Zellner resisted the move, filing a court action to keep them out of the public’s eye.
An Ozaukee County Circuit judge has ruled that the images are public record and eligible for release; a decision that Zellner has appealed.
The Supreme Court has the option of ruling on the case or returning it to the appellate judges.
