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Only On 2: Former Teacher At Christian School Sues For Discrimination Alleging School Fired Her For Getting Divorced

SANTA CLARITA (CBSLA.com)  —   A former teacher who worked for a private Christian school says she was fired for going through a divorce.

It's a story that is Only On 2.

"I was a really good teacher, when I walked in that classroom they are what kept me going," says LKindergarten teacher Sabra Ottaviano.

The former teacher spoke on Friday to CBS2's Peter Daut.

Ottaviano worked at Legacy Christian Academy in Valencia for more than 14 years.

According to a lawsuit she recently filed, the school fired her after she got a divorce.

She says her ex-husband also works at the school and kept his job.

"I do believe that I was wrongfully terminated and I do believe they discriminated against me as far as marital status and gender," she maintains.

In her lawsuit, she alleges school administrators harassed her about the divorce suggesting if she was "with the Lord, she would reconcile with her husband."

She told Daut< "And it was brought up 'Was it a Biblical divorce?' I was continually asked, was it my fault, who left who?"

Ottaviano also said she was criticized for wearing an elf costume. They deemed it "inappropriate," she says.

On another occasion, she says administrators complained her  'panty line' was visible. The panty line, they argued, could cause one of the male parents at the school to "fall" or have impure thoughts.

Legacy Christian Academy declined Daut's request for an interview. They did provide a statement that said, in part -- "The complaint does not accurately describe the reasons for her termination and contain many other inaccuracies."

About 400 students attend the private Kindergarten through 8th grade school which, on its website, says is "committed to sharing God's word with all of our students'.. and describing its education as 'distinctly Christian.'

Ottaviano claims her firing was anything but Christian.

"It just makes me sad, because really all iI wanted to do was come in there and teach Kindergarten," she says.

She told Daut she wants to continue teaching Kindergarten -- at a public school.

 

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