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A lawsuit against a Chilton County Schools superintendent can move forward, a judge ruled Tuesday.

In April, two Chilton County school employees sued superintendent Jason Griffin over what their lawyer called an “unconscionable” demand to repay thousands of dollars in salary overpayments.

Career tech teacher Shellie Smith and Verbena High School cafeteria manager Christie Payne each received letters demanding repayment of $33,000 and $23,000, respectively. The overpayments were due to incorrectly giving the employees credit for years of experience they shouldn’t have been given, the demand letters said.

In court documents, Smith and Payne claimed they were unaware of the overpayments and were not given due process to contest the repayments. If they have to pay the district back, they said, they will suffer “serious, adverse financial harm through no fault of their own.”

“We want to make sure these employees are treated fair,” Alabama Education Association Associate Director Theron Stokes, who is representing the teachers, said in a press conference. “And we know that they don’t owe one dime back to the board of education.”

Griffin’s lawyer Dianne Gamble urged the court to dismiss the claims, calling the lawsuit “drastic and extraordinary.”

Gamble claimed the plaintiffs weren’t denied the chance to object to the repayment notices. She also claimed state law doesn’t explicitly provide legal recourse for employees who are paid less; though it does require due process for employees who face a pay cut because they are demoted or transferred.

And above all, Gamble said, Griffin was protected by sovereign immunity – a typically successful defense used by school administrators in lawsuits.

In Alabama, educators are granted immunity, meaning they can’t be sued as long as they are acting within their authority and aren’t violating any school rules.

But the immunity defense wasn’t enough to strike down the case, Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds ruled Tuesday. He denied the district’s motion to dismiss shortly after a hearing that morning, which means the lawsuit may continue.

“Superintendent Jason Griffin is not the king,” Stokes told CBS 42 outside of the courthouse Tuesday. “He is not the king of Chilton County, and he’s not the king of the State of Alabama.”

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, the AEA thanked the judge for “seeing through Superintendent Griffin’s bogus argument” and for allowing the judicial system to “vindicate” the educators, who are both members of the organization. The case will move forward into discovery and litigation.

“Furthermore, it will be essential to disclose to the public any school board members that support the injustice Superintendent Griffin is doing to the plaintiffs and their families,” the organization wrote.

“AEA is the only organization fighting this misconduct, and we stand ready to fight for all educators who are accused of being overpaid when all they did was rightfully earn a paycheck at the rate their board told them they would earn.”

Griffin declined a request to comment on the suit.

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