Mulvane ? Spectators burst into applause as the Mulvane school board voted unanimously to fire a female high school teacher over an inappropriate relationship with an 18-year-old female student.

Tiffany Garrison, 25, had submitted her resignation from Mulvane High School well before Wednesday night’s special school board meeting, but it was not scheduled to take effect until the end of the school year.

Garrison was suspended with pay April 9 when the district started investigating the relationship. Officials in the south-central Kansas district have said the relationship did not involve any illegal activity such as alcohol use or anything of a sexual nature.

About 60 people attended the special board meeting, which ended with the vote to fire Garrison for reasons that included insubordination and having a relationship with a student. Garrison, who did not attend the meeting, has 15 days to appeal the dismissal.

The girl’s parents attended the meeting and said they were “elated and relieved” by the board’s decision.

As the board was in executive session discussing the matter, the girl’s mother read the crowd a letter she had sent to board members demanding Garrison’s dismissal.

The letter said e-mails between Garrison and the girl suggested their relationship involved more than “pure friendship” and that it involved some physical contact.

“Ms. Garrison should have never allowed the relationship to escalate past the point of teacher and student,” the letters said.

“At the present time, we feel the only appropriate and acceptable action by the Mulvane school board is to fire Ms. Garrison.”

The parents said Garrison moved out of the area after the relationship was exposed.