Former Valley Teacher Facing Suit Suspended

A former Spokane Valley teacher who was fired 2-1/2 years ago has been suspended from a West Side teaching job.

The Kent School District has put Anthony Benson on administrative leave with pay.

The district determined that Benson falsified his work history on his application, according to published reports.

Benson failed to mention two recent firings: by the Central Valley School District in 1994; and by the Muckleshoot Tribal School near Seattle last spring.

Kent hired Benson last fall to teach high school biology for one year.

Benson’s suspension started March 26, according to the South County Journal newspaper in Kent.

Efforts to reach Margaret Whitney, the Kent district’s assistant superintendent, were unsuccessful Monday.

A civil lawsuit against Benson, 42, is scheduled to go to trial next week in Spokane County Superior Court.

Benson and the Central Valley district were sued by Betty and Larry Ford, who say the teacher sexually harassed their daughter at Greenacres Junior High School in 1994.

That incident contributed to Benson’s firing that summer. He was also accused of inappropriately touching female students, harassing teachers and ridiculing a disabled student.

, DataTimes