The Jackson County school board voted 5-0 Monday night to terminate the contract of a Cullowhee Valley Elementary School teacher who refused to administer a No Child Left Behind standardized test to his students with disabilities.

Doug Ward was suspended after he announced in a May 12 email to school officials that he would not be giving his students — some of whom operate far below grade level — the NCEXTEND1 test. Ward said the test “does not provide an opportunity for students to show whether they have made progress during the school year.”

School Board Chairman Ken Henke said the board had little choice in making their decision.

“The situation, whether it was this or any one, is that we give a person ample opportunity to make a decision and to change their ways, and if they still do not wish to go in that direction, we don’t have any choice,” he said.

Henke said a charge of insubordination, like that levied on Ward, almost always carries with it an automatic contract termination.

The chairman said the quality of Ward’s teaching was not a factor in the decision, and in fact, “everything was fine there — but we’re still required like anybody else to follow the rules.”

Ward said though he didn’t agree with the board’s decision, it didn’t surprise him.

“That was the worst-case scenario, but in thinking it through I figured likely that would be the consequence,” he said. “The last thing they want is a bunch of teachers to refuse the test. They had to make an example out of me.”

The final request Ward made of the school board was that it allow him to come back for a day to say goodbye to his students. That was denied, and his suspension remains extended through the end of the school year.

The teacher says he doesn’t regret his actions. “It was the right thing to do, and it worked out how it was supposed to. Whatever’s supposed to happen next will,” he said.

Support for Ward has poured in from around the region and the country.

“It really struck a nerve as far as testing and how stressful it’s been for the kids and teachers,” he said.

Although he’s just one teacher, Ward hopes others will learn from the stand he took.

“Hopefully people will look at it and realize the whole absurdity of that specific test and standardized testing in general as our primary assessment tool for education,” he said. “I hope those people will stay with that and work together to make a change in the system.”

Another goal from the experience is that more attention will be focused on integrating students with disabilities into the overall school experience.

Ward, who just received his master’s degree in special education for students with severe disabilities, isn’t sure what his next move will be. He’s looking into several career options, including working to help formulate education policy.

Editor’s note: An excerpt from Doug Ward’s letter to the School Board, read May 26:

It is my opinion that punishing me for refusing to give the NCEXTEND1 is equivalent to punishing a 3rd grade teacher for refusing to give their students a 9th grade Algebra test for their math EOG.

However, I understand that the superintendent and the school board have laws which they follow, and I understand why I have been suspended and why my contract will not likely be renewed. I ask only that my 23 day suspension be reduced by a whole or even half day, so that I might get a chance to say farewell to all the wonderful students and faculty at CVS with which I have had the honor and the blessing to teach and to learn from!