They punished a devoted teacher & called her a lesbian “witch.”

[Jessica_Rose ✅]

They punished a devoted teacher & called her a lesbian "witch." Now she's having the last laugh.

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/12/they-punished-a-devoted-teacher-called-her-a-lesbian-witch-now-shes-having-the-last-laugh/ 🔗

Greg Owen (5 Dec 2025)

A San Diego school teacher has won a major settlement in a lawsuit that accused her superiors of labeling her a lesbian "witch".

Rose Tagnesi was head of her school district's Special Education Department for over a decade when she was suddenly demoted to a class teaching role at the direction of what she described as an anti-LGBTQ+ majority on the school board.

Her demotion followed an unrelated sex-trafficking case at the school that Tagnesi wasn't named in, and a subsequent investigation targeting her.

The hostile climate created by the earlier inquiry set the stage for a broader "discriminatory campaign" by the board majority, she alleged in her suit, which included her demotion, LGBTQ+ book bans, and cutting ties with an LGBTQ+ mental health care provider previously contracted by the district.

"Ms. Tagnesi, a proud member of the LGBTQ community who served GUHSD [Grossmont Union High School District] for over 28 years in exemplary fashion, was one of the many victims of the anti-LGBTQ majority board's discriminatory campaign," her lawsuit said.

"I've never been told what I did. I've never been told what I was accused of doing. I've never been even asked a question," Tagnesi told ABC affiliate KGTV last year about the investigation and her lawsuit.

The Grossmont Union High School District will pay Tagnesi $700,000 over the next 20 years under terms of the settlement, the San Diego Union Tribune reported on Tuesday. They'll also cover nearly $500,000 in attorneys' fees as part of the deal.