Bonner Springs administrators are being sued after they allegedly installed a hidden video camera in a classroom where adults and students changed clothes.
According to court documents, plaintiff Rob Marriott was a science teacher at Bonner Springs High School from 2007 to 2015.
After Marriott resigned to teach at Leavenworth High School, the documents say another teacher told him officials in USD 204 had placed a hidden video camera in his classroom at Bonner Springs High School from 2009 to 2015 without his knowledge.
Attorney, Dana Tippin Cutler, President of the Missouri Bar and an expert in education litigation said, "I think for teachers they really do see their classroom as workspace and if they are being taped they would want to know."
In the lawsuit it says that Marriott was a track and cross country coach and would lock his classroom after school and change clothes for practices. He also handled personal and private business affairs in his classroom when he was not teaching. The classroom was also used as a locker room for visiting teams to the Metro Classic Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament for a year.
The lawsuit also says that “plaintiffs and student athletes had an expectation of privacy when the door to the classroom was shut and they would change into or out of uniforms or coaching clothes.”
Superintendent Dan Brungardt responded to the allegations:
“USD 204 was recently made aware of a lawsuit filed against the District. In my time as Superintendent, no district cameras have been installed in classrooms for surveillance purposes. USD 204 currently has cameras in common areas of buildings for safety purposes. The district is currently working with counsel on this matter and as the lawsuit progresses we will respond as appropriate.”
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