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Three Edison teachers are in tenure trouble after they allegedly participated in an inappropriate online chat. KRT-Dallas Morning News photo illustration

(KRT-Dallas Morning News photo illustration )

EDISON — The Edison schools chief has moved to fire three teachers who allegedly participated in a vulgar online conversation that ridiculed disabled students, speculated about their coworkers' sex lives, and insulted fellow educators.

Apparently, unbeknownst to the teachers, anyone in the district — including students — could read transcripts of their insulting and innuendo-laden chats. One fellow teacher, an apparent target of their barbs, did just that, and reported it to school administration.

"Although I am not able to comment on personnel matters, the facts contained in the charges that have been filed speak for themselves," Superintendent Richard O'Malley said through a spokesman.

Tyler Van Pelt, Maria Weber and Maryellen Lechelt are currently suspended with pay after the racy Oct. 23 chats, which took place when they were training to use new technology in a room at district offices. State law requires school districts to continue paying teachers on suspension unless they're indicted, or unless their tenure charges are certified. The school board will consider certifying the tenure charges on Monday.

Keith Waldman, a lawyer for Lechelt, said the punishment — firing — didn't fit the alleged crime.

"The proposed penalty is grossly disproportionate to the alleged offense," Waldman said, "and is not in keeping with norms established in other cases involving similar allegations of misconduct."

Waldman declined further comment. Van Pelt and Weber, along with their attorneys, did not respond to requests for comment. The teachers admitted in interviews with school district officials that the chat logs were authentic, according to affidavits from the school district obtained by NJ Advance Media.

"Backchannel" discussions

On the morning of Oct. 23, the teachers had voluntary training on Chromebook laptops in the district offices. According to an email from that morning, Van Pelt invited Weber and Lechelt into what he called a "personal wiseass backchannel discussion."

The 2½ hour chat demeaned special education students and included several double entendres about sex, and was rife with obscure innuendos, according to district documents obtained through the Open Public Records Act.

The district has accused Van Pelt and Lechelt of unbecoming conduct for their alleged comments about special-needs students.

"i like the group name 'morons,'" Lechelt, a teacher at Lincoln Elementary School, allegedly wrote on the Today's Meet chat program. "they take the tart cart home."

"short bus kids," Van Pelt allegedly wrote.

Van Pelt, who also taught at Lincoln Elementary, said he referred to one of his groups of students as "I hate you don't waste my time."

Lechelt wrote that she referred to one group of her students as, "jesus christ, why the f--- did they place you with me?"

Training room disturbance

Weber, a special education teacher at James Monroe, did not respond to those particular messages. The district accused her of fewer instances of misconduct than Van Pelt or Lechelt. She was accused of unbecoming conduct because of her alleged remarks about sexual hygiene habits and remarks about the woman running the computer training that morning.

"She looks like a poor man's Denise Richards," Van Pelt allegedly wrote during the chat session.

"poor man's anything is as good as its gonna get in edison," Lechelt responded.

Later, Van Pelt allegedly said of the woman running the training: "i'd like to invite her to a private backchannel discussion... all night long."

The three were charged with unbecoming conduct because of their alleged comments about the person leading the training, as well as insubordination for misuse of school technology and their failure to pay attention to the training. They are also accused of violating the district's sexual harassment and affirmative action policies, among other charges.

The three were apparently causing a disturbance in the training room, because another teacher turned around to shush them. When they began giggling, she wrote in a sworn affidavit, she started to suspect that they were making fun of her in the chat program.

The teacher found the chat transcript and said later she was horrified by what she saw. The teacher fled the room and reported the incident to her principal, believing they were talking about her, according to the tenure charges.

Not a private chat

School officials stressed that the matter only came to their attention because it was reported to them by another teacher, and that school officials are not spying on correspondences in chats.

Weber and Lechelt said they believed the chats were private, while Van Pelt said he knew that anyone who had the link to the chat would be able to read it, according to the tenure charges. Another teacher involved in the chats, Jonathan Bauza, resigned rather than face disciplinary action, the district said. The chats took place in a program called Today's Meet, a free website geared toward teachers.

Van Pelt maintains a blog about education in Edison. He frequently criticized school administrators, particularly around the topic of technology.

The tenure charges also accuse Van Pelt of conducting union activities during instructional time.

Weber was the adviser for the James Monroe Elementary School student council.

Lechelt won the 2012 Outstanding Classroom Teacher of the Year award from the Edison Chamber of Commerce. The student that nominated her said: "She has also helped our whole class develop different skills we use throughout the year. She brings snacks. She never shouts and is always fair to other adults and students."

The district wrote in an official notice: "We couldn't agree with you more."

Boundaries of propriety

If the school board signs off on the tenure charges, the teachers would then be on unpaid suspension for 120 days. Meanwhile, their case would be forwarded to an arbitrator, who would decide on the matter.

The president of the union representing Edison teachers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Van Pelt is accused in the tenure charges of "Masturbating In or Around Board Property." Van Pelt denied to school officials that he had masturbated that day, but he suggested in the chat that he had just left the room to do so.

Van Pelt was later interviewed by Margaret DeLuca, the district's chief academic officers.

"Mr. Van Pelt stated several times that he found the presenter to be attractive and made two off-color references under his breath after responding to questions, both of which I heard, one about oral sex and the other about masturbating in the bathroom," DeLuca wrote in an affidavit. "Clearly, he does not know the boundaries of propriety."

Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.