A teacher locked in a legal battle with Government over alleged bullying by a special school principal is to appeal an arbitrator’s decision in the case.Claudia DeSilva has filed grievances against Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy head Dena Butterfield Lister, claiming she “victimised, harassed, intimidated, mistreated, targeted and abused” her.Arbitrator Marc Telemaque delivered his ruling on the complaints on September 22, upholding some claims and dismissing others.He ordered Dr Lister to undergo leadership training for not knowing how to manage Mrs DeSilva, whom he described as high-flying and dedicated.Nick DeSilva, 43, the teacher’s Bermudian husband, told The Royal Gazette his wife was not satisfied with the ruling for a multitude of reasons. “My wife will be appealing the decision within the 21-day time frame,” he said.According to legal submissions, the problems between Dr Lister, 49, and Mrs DeSilva, 42, began in 2009, when the latter applied for a job at the Devonshire school.The teacher filed her first grievance against the principal in March 2010, claiming she was being “personally attacked” for voicing concerns about the “many issues/unprofessionalism” taking place at the school.A second grievance filed in August 2010 contained a litany of complaints, including that Dr Lister waged a campaign to stop her becoming deputy principal. Mr Telemaque rejected that allegation.The grievances were initially dealt with by the Ministry of Education but were referred to arbitration at the request of Bermuda Union of Teachers (BUT).Mr DeSilva said Mr Telemaque, permanent secretary at the Ministry of National Security and a former Cabinet Secretary, should not have been the arbitrator as he appointed Education permanent secretary Warren Jones to his post.But Mr Telemaque told this newspaper: “This issue arose during the hearing and was dealt with to the satisfaction of all parties, of which Mr DeSilva is not one.“It is important to note that the grievances in this matter date from March and August 2010 and Mr Jones was appointed in October/November 2010. His involvement, if any, is outside the scope of the grievances as a matter of fact.”Mr DeSilva claimed there were “too many inconsistencies and irregularities in the arbitration process”.He questioned how Mr Telemaque, in his ruling, could have found that Dr Lister excluded his wife from many things but not upheld the claim that she waged a campaign against her getting the deputy job.“A typical reason why people are the targets of bullies is because they are perceived as a threat,” he said. “Also, the Government ‘Dignity at Work’ book outlines bullying behaviour and, if I am not mistaken, all high-ranking government officials have been trained in respect thereof.“Why did the arbitrator ignore all the signs presented throughout the arbitration that point directly to bullying behaviours?”Sales rep Mr DeSilva, who met and married his wife in the US before returning with her to Bermuda, said the situation at the school had made her ill and left the couple owing more than $25,000 in legal fees.He described how he was arrested by police, but never charged, after Dr Lister complained he used threatening words on the school premises in February.The worried husband, of Sandys, said the Ministry of Education had taken Dr Lister’s side and done nothing to help his wife deal with the alleged bullying. He also claimed the BUT did not properly support her.“I warned my wife before we came here about the Bermudian way but she was intrigued. She said ‘I’m coming’. I just followed. She has no one to go to. She has been misled in so many directions.”Dr Lister, Mrs DeSilva and the Ministry of Education declined to comment.BUT general secretary Mike Charles said he did not want to respond to Mr DeSilva’s criticism of the union.“If that’s how he feels, I don’t think there’s anything I can do about that,” he said. “We supported her. We took the case to arbitration because we could not get a proper ruling.“To say the union didn’t represent her properly, that’s up to him to say. I wouldn’t comment on that at all.”Useful website: http://schools.moed.bm.