The 32-year-old gym teacher's human rights complaint of discrimination based on sexual orientation against the board, a senior board official, two teachers and the Nova Scotia Teachers Union will be heard by an independent board of inquiry at Dalhousie University beginning Monday.

Five years ago, the Halifax West High School teacher was the school's sexual harassment adviser and was picked to participate in the board's mentorship program, which helps train future principals and vice-principals.

She had been teaching for four years when she was called to the office of her supervisor at Halifax West — Joy Earle, the vice-principal and head of the phys-ed department — and accused of molesting a 17-year-old female student, according to documents filed with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.

Ms. Willow's fellow teachers, John Orlando and Rick Kitley, had complained to the school administration that they had seen her and the girl leaving a locker room together, according to a news release from the human rights commission.

Principal Gordon Young called police, who soon ruled the accusations groundless. Even so, he began accusing Ms. Willow of coming out to the female student, the teacher's complaint alleges.

"I said I'm not sure how that's relevant to my career and being a teacher," the now openly gay woman said Friday. "At that time, I kind of realized that something was happening that could be malicious."

Mr. Young said he called the school board before acting on the complaint, according to Ms. Willow, and that he was following board procedure in calling police.

After that, Ms. Willow says, she learned that the assault allegation hadn't come from the student but from Mr. Orlando, who was the athletic director at the time, and Mr. Kitley, a gym teacher. Mr. Orlando now works at an Ontario school while Mr. Kitley died of a heart attack about two years ago, according to a school board spokesman.

Ms. Willow alleges the two men had made more than 16 other false accusations about her, including one of her being an "improper role model" for female students.

"I have been subject to ongoing harassment from Young, Orlando and others since Sept. 13, 2000, causing me emotional turmoil and creating an untenable work situation," Ms. Willow says in her human rights complaint, dated Aug. 3, 2001. "Orlando has continued to make disparaging remarks about what he considers to be my sexual orientation. He has also openly indicated that he feels I should have been fired."

"There's no way to repair somebody's reputation from this," she said. "But I think it's important for the individuals that experienced this to stand up for their rights and say this is not acceptable, you cannot treat me this way because of what you perceived as my sexuality at the time."

Ms. Willow appealed to the board to discipline Mr. Orlando, Mr. Kitley and Mr. Young, who has since been promoted to program director with the board. Instead, it offered her a transfer to Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford as a guidance counsellor.

Mr. Young then told her in June 2001 that she had been declared redundant and wouldn't have a job at Halifax West the next year, according to her complaint.

All the while, Ms. Willow says, the Nova Scotia Teachers Union was "reluctant" to defend her. She alleges that her union rep at the time, Earle Tubrett, questioned whether she was promoting homosexuality to her students. He also asked the union's psychologist whether gay teachers could influence their students' orientation, her complaint says.

Ms. Willow says she was outed at a time when only her family and close friends knew she was gay. Afterward, her career was stunted because of it.

"Somehow (Mr. Young) equated being a lesbian to therefore being in an environment with another female made me a child molester. And it was that huge jump that was devastating for me."

A school board spokesman said Friday that he couldn't comment on the specific allegations but that the board doesn't tolerate any kind of harassment, including that targeting gay teachers.

"We believe that the board takes these issues very seriously and we would never allow those to be barriers to someone's employment or advancement within the board," Doug Hadley said.

Sean Foreman, chairman of the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project, a gay and lesbian group, said Friday that Ms. Willow's case demonstrates how the classroom still isn't safe for gay, lesbian and bisexual teachers.

Today, under a new principal at Halifax West, Ms. Willow says things have improved a bit. She has some of her old duties back, including her position as the school's sexual harassment adviser.

But she says the last five years have cost her thousands of dollars in legal bills, sapped her emotionally and dented the love she once had for her job.

"It took everything I had to walk into that school every day, to continue doing my job and to face the administration. And I am so thankful for the students at the West because it was them that made it possible for me to keep going.

"When I got home at the end of the day, I had nothing left to give anybody — my friends, my family, any partner that I had. There was nothing left. And also it changed the way I taught. I became the teacher that I never wanted to be, I became somewhat withdrawn, a little bit cold toward the students when I had always been a teacher that students felt comfortable confiding in about any important issues that they had."

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