Shower girl files suit to be valedictorian
COQUILLE (AP) - A girl who lost her post as valedictorian of a small rural high school for showering with some boys filed a lawsuit Monday asking a judge to restore her title and allow her to speak at graduation.
The lawsuit filed in Coos County Circuit Court on behalf of Leslie Shorb alleges the Powers School Board discriminated against her because of her gender and violated her right to due process, said her attorney, Patricia Davis Hinrichs.
The action asks a judge to review the actions of the school board and seeks a preliminary injunction restoring Shorb to the position of valedictorian of Powers High School and allowing her to speak at the June 2 graduation, Hinrichs said.
School Superintendent Don Grotting said the district had been served the lawsuit, but he was barred by law from commenting on anything to do with a student's records or disciplinary action.
``We're disappointed that school officials wouldn't negotiate'' a settlement, said Shorb's agent, David Hans Schmidt. ``We were only compelled to use litigation as a final resort.''
As punishment for the April shower stunt, Shorb was denied the honor of being co-valedictorian of her 16-member class and delivering a speech at graduation, suspended for 10 days, and barred from attending her prom and a senior trip to Mexico.
Afterwards, Shorb said she was protesting the lack of supervision in the boys' locker room, but her cousin and co-valedictorian, Anna Shorb, said that was just a story she made up after getting caught.
Located in the Coast Range about 200 miles south of Portland, Powers is a town of 665 people that has seen its population drop since logging on the nearby Siskiyou National Forest was sharply cut to protect fish and wildlife.
No court date has been set, Hinrichs said. | 
