Teacher accuses BISD of rights violations

A Jefferson County woman alleges she lost her teaching job under false pretenses and without proper procedure being followed.

Pearline Arline filed a lawsuit Aug. 22 in the Beaumont Division of the Eastern District of Texas against the Beaumont Independent School District and Timothy Chargois.

Arline says she was a contract employee with the Beaumont School District as an adult education teacher, a position funded by federal and state grants.  According to the complaint, adult education director Richard Cantu received grant funding for the program in July 2012 for the 2012-2013 school year.

However, Arline alleges on the first day of work in August 2012 she was called into the director's office and told there were no funding for her teaching position. Arline says she was terminated without any further explanation. She says she filed a grievance with the school board but says the claim was denied by Chargois' grievance administrators.

Arline accuses the defendants of dismissal without due process and violation of liberty interest. She seeks an undetermined amount of money in damages for lost income and benefits. She also seeks to be allowed to return to her teaching position.

Attorney Larry Watts, of Missouri City, represents Arline. They request a jury trial.

Beaumont Division of the Eastern District of Texas case number: 1:14-CV-00428-MAC

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Beaumont Division of the Eastern District of Texas. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note that a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt and it represents only one side of the story.