Overview

• U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph granted summary judgment for the School District of Waukesha on Sept. 29, dismissing Melissa Tempel’s 2023 suit.
• Applying the Pickering balancing test, the court found the district’s interest in efficient operations outweighed Tempel’s speech rights.
• The ruling cited evidence that her social media post prompted sustained disruption, including reports of up to twenty hostile calls per day to the district.
• Tempel was fired in July 2023 after a 9-0 school board vote that followed her public criticism of the decision to exclude the inclusion-themed song “Rainbowland.”
• Superintendent James Sebert said he was pleased with the dismissal and emphasized the district’s focus on students’ academic success and well-being.