Teachers Fired Over Charges of Lesbian Sex Sue Education Dept.

Both New York City high school teachers fired over allegations that they had a same-sex tryst in a classroom have now filed lawsuits to get their jobs back.

Cindy Mauro, who last week was let go from her job teaching French at James Madison High School in Brooklyn, has sued the city's education department in hopes of being reinstated, the New York Daily News reported Friday. Spanish teacher Alini Brito, who was fired earlier this month, sued about two weeks ago.

In November 2009 a janitor told a school administrator he had seen the women, partially undressed, engaging in sexual activity in a classroom. Both teachers were reassigned shortly afterward. A state arbitrator then reviewed the allegations and gathered testimony from other witnesses, leading to the firings.

The teachers contend that Mauro was offering medical aid to Brito, who is diabetic and was not feeling well. Their lawyer said the report of a sexual encounter was due to an "overactive imagination," according to the Daily News. "Not one witness who testified said they saw Ms. Mauro in any state of undress or committing a sexual act," lawyer Michael Valentine said. A surveillance tape, now destroyed, could prove his clients' case, he said.

The city's law department declined comment on the suits.