Attorneys for first-grade teacher Abigail Zwerner, who was shot by one of her students in January, say that she has been fired.
In a one-page email from the Human Resources Department at Newport News Public Schools, first obtained by WAVY, notified Zwerner that she "was an employee of Newport News Public Schools until June 12, 2023, the last day of her contract."
"The email that Ms. Zwerner received from the Human Resources Department is a confirmation of her separation of service from Newport News Public Schools," the email reads. "Every employee who is separating from the school division receives a similar communication. Ms. Zwerner notified the Human Resources Department that she was resigning from her position as a teacher for NNPS on March 13, 2023."
Zwerner's attorney, Jeffrey Breit, said that Zwerner had been effectively fired, noting that she was in disbelief after receiving the email, despite the district's claims that she had resigned.
“I don’t think you can read this any other way than you’ve been fired. And that’s what she thinks. She doesn’t understand it; there’s no other communication,” he told WAVY. “To say we were shocked is an understatement."
Zwerner was shot in the hand and chest on January 6 by a first grade student in her class. After spending two weeks in the hospital and undergoing four surgeries, she filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school district for gross negligence and failing to act on multiple warnings the day of the shooting.
The school board has since claimed that Zwerner's injuries should fall under her worker's compensation, arguing that facing violence from students should be considered part of a teacher's job, and that Zwerner can't reasonably expect students to pose no danger.
According to Breit, Zwerner was offered worker's compensation but did not accept it. She has been on leave since the incident, and Breit claimed that the school district has not paid her since February, using the ongoing litigation as justification.
"We have litigation,” Breit said. “They haven’t paid her in a couple of months. They are trying to squeeze her. She has to August 1 to leave or re-sign, [but] they fire her two months early. The only thing I can think, they were trying to put pressure on her because we filed suit. It’s outrageous, as outrageous as I’ve ever seen.”
He continued: “They sent a check to her bank account. Her worker comp check – two-thirds of pay – they sent it to her. We immediately sent it back. This is not workers comp.”
Breit also said that while “Newport News has a disability program" to ensure teachers “get paid while they are out," Zwerner "has not received a single response to the disability letter from her doctor.”
“While this woman was protecting 20 other students and risking her life,” he said, “they decided to fire her because she wouldn’t drop her lawsuit. That is part of the damages you are entitled to a reward for, and we are going to ask for that.”
