'Witch trial' may go to jury Monday

As attorneys for the Sevier School District and fired teacher Erin Jensen rested their cases, one question was left brewing: Did school district officials fire Jensen, in part, over rumors that she was a witch?

Being the final witness in the case, Jensen took the stand Friday a second time to refute rumors that had circulated around the Sevier School District and her community that she practiced witchcraft.

"I am not a witch," Jensen said with a lighthearted laugh, adding she has never taught witchcraft in any of her classes.

The former English teacher and debate coach, who was voted teacher of the year by the staff at South Sevier High School just before she was terminated in 2003, claims she was fired by Superintendent Brent Thorne because of her sex and religion. Jensen claims she was one of only two full-time teachers at the school who was not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The two English teachers were fired at the same time.

Jensen's attorneys point to the February 2003 minutes of a school board executive session in which there were remarks about Jensen being a "witch", she painted her windows black, "practices witchcraft" and "prefers the dark side." There was also discussion among district officials about a prior incident in which Jensen had gone across the street to a bakery to get a cup of coffee during a teacher training seminar.

On the witness stand, Thorne defended his decision to fire Jensen, saying he did not take her sex, religion or the rumors into consideration when he decided to terminate her and ban her from working in the school district again.

Thorne said he expressed concern about standard test scores in English among students overall at the high school as well as accounts that Jensen was seen outside a training seminar on one occasion while it was in session. Thorne denies he had a problem with Jensen drinking coffee.

Prior testimony showed that some parents had complained about the ideas Jensen was teaching their children and her discussion of "different religious systems."

But Jensen's attorneys pointed out that just before she was fired, the school board met in executive session to discuss the termination of Jensen and the other teacher, a male.

Some time after the meeting, district officials altered the minutes, deleting the witchcraft references in the text.