The last day of Abby Zwerners contract was Monday, Newport News Public Schools said in a statement. The district said that Zwerner notified human resources in March that she wouldnt be returning next school year.
Zwerner, 25, was shot in the hand and chest as she sat at a reading table in her first-grade classroom on Jan. 6. She spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, has endured multiple surgeries and told NBC that she sometimes cant get up out of bed.
Zwerner filed her lawsuit in early April, alleging that school officials ignored multiple warnings that the boy had a gun and was in a violent mood that day.
The school board has pushed back, asking a judge to dismiss the case and arguing that Zwerner should get workers compensation instead.
WAVY-TV first reported that Zwerner no longer worked for the district on Tuesday. In an interview with the station, an attorney for Zwerner characterized her departure as a firing.
Lawyer Jeffrey Breit cited an email that school officials sent Zwerner in May, stating they had processed a separation of employment for you effective the close of business 06/12/2023.
Breit told WAVY: I dont think you can read this any other way than youve been fired. And thats what she thinks. She doesnt understand it; theres no other communication.
Newport News Public Schools refuted Breits claim in a statement Tuesday.
Every employee who is separating from the school division receives a similar communication, the district said.
The school system also provided emails between the district and Zwerner in which the teacher wrote: I wish to resign. Thank you.
Breit did not respond to an email and a phone call from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Zwerners resignation is yet another development in the aftermath of the shooting, which has reverberated through the shipbuilding city of about 180,000 people near the Atlantic coast.
The boy who shot Zwerner had used his mothers gun. His mother, Deja Taylor, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to using marijuana while owning a firearm, which is illegal under U.S. law.
Taylor is facing charges on the state level of felony child neglect and reckless storage of a firearm. A trial for those counts is set for August.
Meanwhile, Zwerners $40 million lawsuit is pending.
Zwerners attorneys have said school officials knew the boy had a history of random violence at school and at home, including an episode the year before in which he strangled and choked his kindergarten teacher.
Teachers concerns with John Does behavior (were) regularly brought to the attention of Richneck Elementary School administration, and the concerns were always dismissed, the lawsuit states.
In asking a judge to dismiss the case, the school board has argued that Zwerners injuries fall under the states workers compensation act.
The school board rejected Zwerners claim that she could reasonably expect to work with young children who pose no danger, pointing to numerous incidents of violence against teachers across the U.S. and in Newport News.
While in an ideal world, young children would not pose any danger to others, including their teachers, this is sadly not reality, the board stated.
The school board said Zwerner has refused to accept workers compensation.
