Peter Panse update

You may recall the saga of Peter Panse, a New York art teacher who was suspended for having merely suggested that some of his more advanced students attend life classes (i.e. they should be allowed to draw a naked person from life). Brian Yoder campaigned on Peter's behalf, both on his own website and on the Art Renewal Center website. Coxsoft Art also supported Peter's case with a blog and by signing the online petition. The last news was back in July 2006. The recent case of another US art teacher in trouble over nudity stirred memories. Art News Blog published a comparison of the two cases, and this morning your ace cub news reporter got stuck in....
Scoop!
According to the Middletown City Schools Fine Arts Who's Who page, which was updated on 26 September 2006, Peter Panse is on the payroll! (See title link.) So, what happened? The Middletown Board of Education has kept secret its recent meetings about Peter's case, but minutes for a meeting on 12 January 2006 recorded: "The following visitors spoke in support of teacher Peter Panse: Michael Haine, Adriana DiMatteo, Rene Fisher, Ronald Thorn, Reanna Fisher, Jerry Fisher, Elizabeth Collica." Good for them. So, Peter's fate may have been decided 6 months before the newspapers caught up with the story and turned it into a scandal! Interestingly, the syllabus doesn't mention life classes.