MAP Forum

A former teacher is suing the Pinelands Regional School District after claiming she was fired for reporting a colleague’s inappropriate conduct — including his relationship with a junior at the high school.

Melissa Pomphrey, a veteran special education teacher, filed a lawsuit against the school district, the principal of Pinelands High School, the district’s director of special services and another district employee.

Pomphrey said she reported concerns about a paraprofessional at the Little Egg Harbor Township school whom she frequently observed with a student he was not assigned to support. The suit claims the paraprofessional “would frequently invite this underage student to hang out with him after school.”

Pomphrey’s concerns about the situation grew when she learned the paraprofessional and other school employees were participating in what she describes as “pedophile parties,” where attendees would allegedly dress as their “favorite pedophile,” according to the lawsuit.