Plaintiff Kenneth Markovich was an ROTC instructor in the Panther Valley School District. While he was injured and out on leave, the district superintendent contacted the Army, questioning plaintiff’s qualifications to teach the ROTC program. He also received an “unsatisfactory” rating from the school board. Following these events, which plaintiff believes were retaliatory and in violation of state law and of his contract, plaintiff was placed on paid administrative leave at a public meeting. Although the board’s solicitor advised the board not to make public the name of the employee being placed on leave, R. Mickey Angst, a board member, disclosed plaintiff’s name at the meeting and on his personal blog. Thereafter, the local newspaper ran a story stating that plaintiff had been placed on leave. Plaintiff was eventually placed on unpaid leave, then fired. Plaintiff sued the school district, its superintendent, and Mr. Angst, bringing claims for violations of the Civil Rights Act, the U.S. Constitution, and state law claims.
The District Court declined to dismiss plaintiff’s breach of contract and procedural due process claims, but did find that the board member was entitled to official immunity.