A former teacher in the Prosper Independent School District claims administrators "bullied and reprimanded" her for reporting a student's allegation of sexual abuse by another teacher to the city police and not the district's own police department.
Mary "Maribeth" Thomas, a former Prosper High School teacher and nurse, said a student told her that a teacher had touched her inappropriately on the leg and told her he liked her.
She reported the allegation to Prosper police, she said. But school officials later told her that the complaint should have been handled "internally" with the district's own police department, Thomas claimed.
Assistant Superintendent Michael Goddard denied Thomas was ever reprimanded and described her as "an opportunistic person trying to take advantage of the system."
Goodard said there was no attempt to sweep the allegation under the rug.
"This is really a teacher trying to extort the system," Goddard said.
He said Thomas demanded $500,000 to make the issue go away before going public.
