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Retiree on school board demands rank be used

A retired Reserve captain is threatening to sue her local California school board if the board’s members do not address her by her military title.

Retired Reserve Capt. Noreen Considine, 64, was elected to the Jurupa Unified School Board near Riverside, Calif., in November. She claims her political foes are deliberately disrespecting her by not using her rank when discussing school business.

“It’s a way to diminish me. If they take away my title — the one I ran on and the one I’m entitled to — then they have a better shot at demonizing me,” Considine said in an interview.

At a Jan. 20 meeting, Considine told the school board they were harming her reputation, violating her civil rights and may be liable under California state laws.

“None should doubt my resolve in this matter,” Considine told the crowd, according to the minutes of the meeting.

“Those who think they can act contrary to the law with impunity — proceed at your own peril,” she said.

Considine, a medical services officer who retired in 2004, said in an interview Jan. 23 that she hopes her disagreement with the board members does not end up in court.

“I am giving them a chance to stop this nonsense,” she said.

Jurupa Unified School District Superintendent Elliot Dushon said Considine said his district is facing a massive budget crisis that may force them to layoff up to 200 teachers in the next 18 months. He said the board members have discussed Considine’s title at several recent meetings and he’d prefer they address more student-oriented matters.

“There are bigger issues we have to deal with, frankly,” Duschon said in an interview. “This would be the type of lawsuit that would take a lot of time and a lot or resources and a lot of energy that I think would be best spent dealing with the budget.”

Lt. Cmdr John Daniels, a Navy spokesman, said the Navy encourages retirees to use their titles in public, but no law requires civilians to address active or retired military service members by their ranks.