The problem for the Court then became how to balance the government's interest in maintaining an efficient public workplace against the individual employee's interest in free expression. In Pickering v. the Board of Education (1968) Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the decision that "a teacher's exercise of his right to speak on issues of public importance may not furnish the basis for his dismissal from public employment." (188) .
Case Study.
Matt Scarlett is a second year music teacher and band director at a suburban high school. The school is located in an affluent upper middle class area, 40 miles east of New York City. The majority of residents in this school district are registered Republicans. In each of the last 6 presidential elections the Republican candidate has garnered the most votes even when the Democratic candidate eventually won the presidential election. The residents of the district are predominantly business people with positions in the upper echelons of the corporate community and as a whole tend to hold conservative traditional views.
Mr. Scarlett has been observed by his building principal, the assistant principal and the Director of Music. Each of the observations have found Mr. Scarlett to be an exemplary teacher, who is extremely knowledgeable about his content area, and enjoys an excellent rapport with his students. Additionally, a number of parents have sent letters to the building principal and the Superintendent commenting on the improved quality of the half-time performances at the football games. However, the principal has received complaints from some parents criticizing Mr. Scarlett's attire as too casual for school, (he typically wears jeans 2-3 days a week) and that his appearance is sloppy (he has long hair that he sometimes wears in a pony tail and sometimes just loose around his shoulders).
As the Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Instruction, I have been asked by a .