Pulaski County Justice of the Peace Doug Reed, fired from his longtime teaching position for refusing to wear a mask, is suing his former employer, Pulaski Academy, accusing the school of violating his religious beliefs by terminating his employment.

In a seven-page suit filed eight months after Reed was let go by his employer of almost 30 years, the science teacher from Roland is asking Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herb Wright to recognize that he's been discriminated against. He's further asking the judge to bar the school from ever requiring masks again and to force the 51-year-old institution to pay his litigation costs.

Masking has been recognized by health authorities as an effective measure to combat the spread of the covid virus but imposing mask mandates has been contentious. Reed's suit describes masking as a "workplace hazard by impeding the ability of the plaintiff to breath while doing his job."

Reed, who's also an associate pastor, maintains his January firing violates the Arkansas Civil Rights Act as well as the religious freedom protections found in the Arkansas Constitution.

In February, Reed, a justice of the peace since 2008, sued County Judge Barry Hyde and the county after Reed was barred from attending a Quorum Court meeting because of Hyde's masking requirement. The suit was dismissed in May because Hyde rescinded the policy about a month after the suit was filed.

In both suits, Reed was represented by Conway attorney Chris Corbitt, a former candidate for state representative who has drawn public attention with several lawsuits challenging prohibitions on the open-carry of firearms.

Reed, a physics teacher, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in January that his decision to refuse to wear a mask was a "conscience-based decision that I felt God impressed on me." The comment was made the same day the school forced him out.

Reed said he abided by the mask rule until he could no longer morally tolerate it, but the school refused his request for a religious exemption because the institution claimed that sending him home to be quarantined each time he was exposed to the virus would be too much effort. Reed is now teaching at Abundant Life Christian Academy in Sherwood.

His opposition to masking is "deeply rooted in his religious belief," the suit states. According to the suit, "Doug Reed believes that mandating him to wear a mask violated his religious beliefs ... a sincerely held religious belief, practices and observance that he was opposed to wearing a mask."

Reed set up a GoFundMe page to cover his legal expenses, hoping to raise $75,000. The effort had netted $13,307 as of Thursday, with 113 donations.

Established in 1971, Pulaski Academy serves students from pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade on a 32-acre campus on Hinson Road in west Little Rock. According to the most recently available public tax disclosures, the school had $17.8 million in revenue, supported by $15.8 million in tuition, with annual earnings slightly outpaced by $17.9 million in expenses, with $12.4 million of that spending in salaries.

The filing for fiscal year 2019 reports that about 1,322 students completed the school year and were credited with completing the grade level they were enrolled in, with about 102 pupils graduating. The school has a current enrollment of 1,345 students, according to its web site.

The school's highest-paid employee was Matt Walsh, president, with $248,139 annually. He was followed by Athletic Director Kevin Kelly, $172,579; finance chief Don Swanson, with $128,954; Gregg Ledbetter, head of enrollment management, $126,571; and Principal Justin Robken, $112,107.

Print Headline: Teacher files suit over mask firing

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