State Supreme Court asked to review firing at La Crosse area Catholic school

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court was asked Tuesday to exempt a La Crosse area Catholic school system from the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

Wendy Ostlund was in her 50s when she and eight other teachers were let go from the Coulee Catholic Schools in 2002.

Ostlund, an elementary teacher for almost three decades, cited age discrimination, but the district said religious freedom overrides that complaint.

The school also said Ostlund’s firing was part of a cost-cutting measure and she was not legally certified to teach her first-grade class.

The circuit and appellate courts both said the district wrongfully tried to seek a blanket “ministerial exception” from the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

But during Tuesday’s Supreme Court arguments, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson said the case was not about religious freedom, saying Ostlund was not fired for religious reasons.

If Ostlund wins her case it would be returned to another state panel which would act on her age discrimination complaint.

Tags: wisconsin news, lacrosse catholic school, teacher firing lawsuit, wendy, ostlund