Former Lower Merion teacher sues student who accused him of relationship

A former Lower Merion teacher who was fired on charges he had a relationship with a student has sued the student for libel.

In the federal suit, Robert Schanne says he didn’t have “intimate relations” with Jenna Addis until 2004 – the year following her graduation.

After that, according to the suit, the two hooked up from time to time but when Schanne started seeing someone else, Addis got jealous and threatened to manufacture a story about an inappropriate affair, the Associated Press reported.

Addis told Lower Merion officials in December that they had had a sexual or romantic relationship while she was an 18-year-old student, the lawsuit charged.

Schanne was fired the following month. He had earned about $100,000 a year after more than 13 years in the affluent district.

”I think his teaching license is in jeopardy,” lawyer Timothy Kolman told The Associated Press. “He’s an excellent teacher, and I know that many of the students and many of the parents are distressed that they no longer have his teaching talents to rely on.”

A phone number for Addis in New Orleans could not be determined.

A school spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment after business hours.

According to the lawsuit, Schanne taught Addis in both her junior and senior years. She often ate lunch in or near his classroom, and he tutored her at her home, it said. Addis allegedly told school officials the tutoring sessions included times when they were alone at her home, and that their relationship came to cross the line, through hugging, kissing and other physical contact.