Jury duty forces teacher to leave students
Connellsville Area Senior High School English teacher David Hartz worked on his lesson plans Tuesday in preparation for the first week of school, which begins Monday. However, it might be the second week before his students get the opportunity to meet the instructor because he has been selected to serve as a juror in Fayette County Court.
The timing, said Hartz, is troubling.
“I’m thinking of my students,” said the veteran teacher. “That first week is so important.”
In mid-July, Hartz received the summons that instructed him to appear at the county courthouse on Aug. 29, which coincides with the first day of school for district students.
When completing the questionnaire, Hartz explained his circumstance and requested to be excused from the duty. He also enlisted the aid of district superintendent James Duncan to correspond with the court to have his name pulled from the jury pool.
Much to his surprise, when he returned from a family vacation over the weekend, he found a message that the request for his being excused from jury duty was denied.
While he said he wholeheartedly supports the jury system, Hartz believes his first duty and responsibility during the start of the school year lies in the classroom.
“The court is being so rigid. It is so unfair,” he said.
Hartz said that during the first week, students are advised of responsibilities and goals, curriculum and other facets tied to the 10th-grade English class. His 11th- and 12th-grade journalism students also are advised of their course of study for the year.
Duncan said the first and last weeks of school are the most critical for secondary teachers and students.
“There are schedule changes, new classes and students unfamiliar with the high school environment, so it is important to have your staff in the classroom during the first week,” he said. “This is not a time to pull people away from their jobs.”
In addition to Hartz, another district secondary teacher and high school secretary received a summons to appear for jury duty Aug. 29, Duncan said.
He said he wrote three letters to the court, asking that the three district employees be waived from jury duty, but his requests were denied.
Karen M. Kuhn, district court administrator for the county court, said in a faxed statement that the past practice of permitting such waivers as requested by Hartz and others has caused a shortfall in the jury pool.
“In the past, the court has been lenient in excusing jurors to the point where it has become very difficult to have a jury pool sufficient to hear the heavy case load of the trials scheduled for a session of court,” she said. “Consequently, it has tightened its policy and will now excuse only for reasons of undue hardship as required by law.
“Although the court is sympathetic with those seeking excusal, it must nevertheless guarantee than an adequate array of jurors is present to conduct its mandated legal duties of justice.”
Duncan said teachers and other staff are encouraged to serve as jurors throughout the school year.
“We want them to fulfill their civic duty,” he said. “It is their responsibility.”
Hartz said he served as a juror in 1984. He was called upon again in the early 1990s, but was unable to fulfill the obligation due to health reasons, which was documented by his physicians through letters to the court.
If called upon later in the school year, Hartz said, he would “enthusiastically” serve as a juror.
“It is not that school teachers deserve a free pass. They don’t,” he said. “I’d serve another time, once I’m established in my classroom. When my students are familiar with the routine, I’d be glad to serve.”