Maine School Employee Reprimanded for Telling Churchgoing Coworker ‘I Will Pray for You’
ICC Note: An employee of a public high school in Maine, Toni Richardson, was recently reprimanded for telling a coworker that she would pray for him regarding job difficulties. Although the coworker also attended Richardson’s church and the mention of prayer took place in a private conversation, Richardson was told by school officials that she violated the First Amendment and threatened her with disciplinary action. First Liberty Institute is now representing Richardson as she files a federal complaint against the school district for their response.
By Heather Clark
05/17/2017 United States (Christian News Network) – A special education technician at a public high school in Maine has filed a federal complaint against her school district after she was reprimanded for telling a coworker, who is a member of her church, that she would pray for them.
According to her complaint, Toni Richardson began expressing concern last fall about a new member of her special education team at Cony High School whose demeanor on the job was marked by frustration and “mood swings.”
At one point, in seeking to provide a word of encouragement after noticing her coworker’s difficulty transitioning to the new job, she told him privately that she would pray for him.
“I told him that I thought that the students could use a good male role model because many of them were from fatherless homes. I also knew he was a member of my church because I had worked alongside him at our church’s community dinners and at the nursing home ministry,” she recalls in her complaint. “So, as we were leaving for the day, I told him that I would pray for him. He said, ‘Thanks. That means a lot to me.’”
During a meeting days later, Richardson told officials that she did not feel comfortable working with the man any longer because of his ongoing “confrontational and aggressive” behavior, which sometimes was displayed in front of students.
However, Richardson soon became the focus of questioning during the meeting, as she was asked whether she had told anyone that she was a Christian or made any faith-based statements. When she admitted that she had told the man she would pray for him, Richardson was advised that her actions violated the First Amendment.