Judge rules that teacher involved in drug bust can collect wages
School district told to pay Los Gatan $304,000
Case dismissed in 1999
By Gloria I. Wang
"There's no words to describe how glad I am that it's over," Santa Clara teacher Susan Martin. "It's been difficult, it's been challenging, it's been hurtful." Martin, 57, arrested in a drug case that was later dismissed, was recently reinstated as a teacher and ordered to receive five years' back pay.
Martin, a longtime Los Gatos resident, was nearing retirement when she was arrested on April 9, 1996. Narcotics authorities raided her house and found about six pounds' worth of marijuana plants and some methamphetamine in her home in Redwood Estates. Martin's husband, Charles Martin, and adult son, Matthew Russell, were also arrested.
Martin has always maintained her innocence, saying that she was estranged from her husband at the time of her arrest and that she had no knowledge of the marijuana growing on her property. Russell is still in prison, serving a five-month sentence. "He's doing well," Martin said. "This is a big wake-up call for him." Martin and her husband, who was sentenced to four months' house arrest and three years' probation, are back together and living in their Redwood Estates home.
Although Martin said that she would never wish a similar ordeal on another person, she sees positive effects from her experience. As a middle school science teacher and a "child advocate," Martin said, "My first concern right after I was arrested was, 'What are those kids going to think?'" Martin said she now realizes that she has emerged as a better and more knowledgeable teacher. Instead of merely warning her students about drugs from a chemical standpoint, she can also draw from her experience in dealing with her son's drug abuse.
The case against Martin was dismissed in November 1999, after she completed a drug diversion program. The diversion program "was a joke," Martin said. "It's like a glorified driving school." The program lasted eight weeks and consisted of weekly classes at West Valley College. Martin said she went through the program twice ,because the "punks" in the first class were distracting and did not take the program seriously.
"A lot of this has been a real farce," Martin said.
After a March 15 hearing, a Santa Clara County judge ordered the Santa Clara Unified School District to pay Martin for the years of work that she missed since her arrest--a total of $304,000. In September 2000, the judge ordered Martin's reinstatement in the district. Martin, a Buchser Middle School science teacher, was on a mandatory unpaid leave of absence after her arrest. The school hired another teacher in her place.
Martin said that the money is necessary for her to "get things straightened out financially." As a teacher, she was unable to collect unemployment and was unable to fulfill many of her financial obligations. "With the money, we'll break even," she said.
The district's argument was that Martin did not attempt to search for other employment. The state of California reinstated Martin's teaching credentials almost immediately after her arrest. "Ms. Martin admitted in her deposition that she performed virtually no work during this period of time, nor did she make any effective attempts to seek employment that was comparable to her job at the district," court documents stated.
Richard Noack, attorney for the district, said that placing Martin on an unpaid leave of absence was required by law, but having to pay Martin $300,000 is extreme. "The district felt like it's a rather substantial amount of money that might otherwise go to kids," Noack said.
The defense was that Martin would not have been hired by other schools if she had tried. In court documents, Martin's attorney, Peter Chang, wrote that a specific education code is designed "to prevent teachers accused of violent crimes, serious felonies and certain drug felonies from being around children."
School employment applications require fingerprinting and disclosure of a criminal history, which would have led to Martin's not being hired. "[Martin] was not sitting idly," Chang wrote. "She did make inquiries at such places as Safeway, Nordstrom and Manpower. They didn't want her."
Noack said that there is a possibility that the district will appeal the judge's decision because it insists that the law requiring back payment is unconstitutional. The board of trustees will have to decide whether or not to appeal in the next few months.
Martin said that she is unsure of her next step. She will attempt to pay off all her debts and wants to return to teaching, but is close to retirement. She was "just shy of 30 years" when she was arrested. Martin does say, however, that she is not willing to just give up. "I'm a person who's a fighter," Martin said.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
