STAMFORD – A former Stamford High School principal is suing the Stamford Board of Education to get her job back.
Donna Valentine’s lawyers filed suit yesterday.
She was fired following a report done on the management of the high school following the arrest of former teacher charged and convicted for sexual assault involving a male student.
The Board of Education in Stamford voted 8-0 to terminate Valentine after she and the assistant principal, Roth Nordin, were arrested in October 2014 for not reporting the inappropriate sexual relationship between English teacher Danielle Watkins, 32, and a 17-year-old male student. Police have also said that she provided that student and another student marijuana.
A third administrator, Assistant Principal Angela Thomas-Graves, was also terminated for her role ihn the incident. Another administrator resigned, and a fifth was suspended.
Valentine pleaded not guilty October 2, 2014 to criminal charges of failing to alert authorities. Both she and Nordin ended up receiving accelerated rehabilitation in November 2014. Defendants who successfully complete the program have their criminal records expunged.
