Stripper-teacher suing district

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A former West Ottawa Public Schools teacher who said the district tried to fire her because she once worked as a stripper is now suing the district.

Susan Brennan said the school tried to get rid of her once they discovered she had been a stripper. Later, they reached an agreement that protected her from retaliation based on her previous employment.

But she claims the district then began giving her bad evaluations, accused her of not following several district policies in the classroom, excessive absences and using her cell phone during class time.

Brennan claims in the lawsuit the accusations are false and she is being treated differently from male teachers accused of similar classroom actions.

At last report, Brennan was on leave from the district while the Michigan Teacher Tenure Commission evaluated the case.  24 Hour News 8 has reached out to both the commission and the district for comment.

The stripping incidents happened in Grand Rapids and Lansing around 2006 while Brennan was on a medical leave of absence from the school.

In a 2010 document to the school board , she described her stripping experience this way:

"It was the single most disastrous, most humiliating, and most damaging mistake of my life, one that I will regret for the rest of my life. It has followed me for the last four years, and I have no choice but to deal with this issue head-on. I do want the board to understand that this was a time of great financial and emotional stress for me, and that my ex-husband and I were facing bankruptcy. In a stupid, misguided attempt to avert disaster, I allowed him to pressure me into gaining employment in an adult nightclub."