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White teacher wins $350,000 in Prince George’s schools bias lawsuit

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F

fluffydelusions

Member
A former Prince George’s County teacher won a $350,000 jury award after accusing the school system of discriminating against him because he is white.

Jon Everhart alleged in his lawsuit against the Prince George’s County school board that a black principal forced him out of his job because of his race.

“Justice was served,” Everhart said. “I do feel as though I have been vindicated.”

Everhart, 65, speaking by phone from Ohio after the verdict in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, said he faced years of racial harassment from the Largo High School principal, who he said repeatedly told staffers and students that she planned to fire him.

“She called me ‘poor white trash’ and ‘white b----,’ ” Everhart said of the principal, Angelique Simpson-Marcus, who leads the 1,100-student school in Upper Marlboro. “Her behavior was so outlandish.”

Simpson-Marcus said in an interview that the allegations are baseless. She declined to comment on the reason for Everhart’s termination, but she said the complaints of ill treatment and retaliation were “unfounded.”

“I never said any of those things,” she said. “I don’t use that kind of language.”

Max Pugh, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County school system, said he could not comment on the case because the litigation is ongoing; the school system has 30 days to respond to the judge’s order and could file an appeal.

Everhart sued in 2010 after he was fired, and he was one of several Largo High School employees who made allegations of harassment. Some who filed lawsuits said they were mistreated for vocally supporting Everhart.

Bryan Chapman, Everhart’s attorney, argued that the Board of Education violated the Civil Rights Act, which says organizations receiving federal funding cannot discriminate on the basis of race, color or national origin. There is no cap in potential damages in such cases; Everhart originally sought $5 million.

The jury sided with Everhart on the discrimination claim, but it found in favor of the county school board on Everhart’s claim of a hostile work environment.

Everhart’s award is for compensatory damages. He said he has suffered from high blood pressure and heart problems as a result of his treatment at Largo.

U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte will later decide how much Everhart should receive in back pay and benefits. The school system has 30 days to show why Everhart should not receive retirement and health benefits and why his teaching certificate, which was revoked when he was fired, should not be restored.

Everhart, a former Baltimore city teacher, was hired by Prince George’s in 2003 and was assigned to teach English at Largo. At that time, Simpson-Marcus was a physical education teacher.

Everhart said Simpson-Marcus told students that the “only reason a white teacher teaches in P. G. County is that they can’t get a job elsewhere.” He filed a union grievance against her and said she told him that if she ever became principal, he would be the first person she would fire.

Chapman said that when Simpson-Marcus returned to Largo as its principal, Everhart, who was once named the school’s Teacher of the Year and who received stellar evaluations, started to receive unsatisfactory performance evaluations.

Everhart said he was removed from teaching honors English to juniors and seniors — classes in which he was popular — and was placed in a freshman class, where Simpson-Marcus allegedly told students that Everhart was going to lose his job.

Chapman said that Everhart filed complaints but that they were often ignored. He tried to get transferred to another high school, but the effort was blocked, Chapman said. There was never a school system investigation of the matter, Chapman and Everhart said.

“I just think it was a disgrace, and I think that’s what the jury saw, too,” Chapman said.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...13097a0c-868e-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394&hpid=z13
 
F

fader

Member
yea i read about this earlier. Kinda embarrassing how that principle acted and I don't get why she was not fired.
 
G

Grimm Fandango

Member
The jury sided with Everhart on the discrimination claim, but it found in favor of the county school board on Everhart’s claim of a hostile work environment.
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So the latter part of this is saying the jury didn't agree it was a hostile work environment? Am I reading this wrong?
 
K

kirblar

Member
WeAreStarStuff said:
Really? Because of Prince William County?

Every time I hear PG county I think of the ghetto of Maryland.

I say this as someone that spent most of their life in Northern VA and now lives in Montgomery county.
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Prince George County is a VA county (but not one in NOVA)
 
V

vas_a_morir

Banned
I understand how civil cases go, but you always gotta laugh at the initial high-ball numbers thrown about by Plaintiff's attorneys. $5 million? Come on!
 
M

Man God

Non-Canon Member
vas_a_morir said:
I understand how civil cases go, but you always gotta laugh at the initial high-ball numbers thrown about by Plaintiff's attorneys. $5 million? Come on!
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no cap on civil rights cases, go for the moon. Probably would have gotten it if both charges had stuck.
 
V

vas_a_morir

Banned
Man God said:
no cap on civil rights cases, go for the moon. Probably would have gotten it if both charges had stuck.
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While I personally doubt it, anything is possible. The plaintiff is generally expected to show quantifiable material losses to get paid that much. As in "I can no longer work for the rest of my life, and I was expected to earn this much over my working lifetime." and so on. Generally, these kind of cases are expected to end in a settlement, so you aim high. Makes sense, but it's still laughable.
 
C

Camp Lo

Banned
Everhart said Simpson-Marcus told students that the “only reason a white teacher teaches in P. G. County is that they can’t get a job elsewhere.”
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Damn, she told the kids that? That's cold blooded.
 
Zoe

Zoe

Member
vas_a_morir said:
While I personally doubt it, anything is possible. The plaintiff is generally expected to show quantifiable material losses to get paid that much. As in "I can no longer work for the rest of my life, and I was expected to earn this much over my working lifetime." and so on. Generally, these kind of cases are expected to end in a settlement, so you aim high. Makes sense, but it's still laughable.
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He was near retirement age when this happened, and from the sounds of it he won't be able to retire with his full benefits from the state's retirement system (if at all)
 
P

Professor Renegade

Banned
Behavior like that shouldn't be tolerated in an educational institute. Feuds should be put aside once you walk through those doors, the education and safety of the students should be the number one priority, not creating a hostile work environment.
 
V

Valhelm

contribute something
Tacitus_ said:
Oh. Is this commonly said in other racism discussion or something?
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"That woman was probably mentally ill."

"He just said the first thing that came to mind."

"Just because you say the n-word once doesn't mean you're racist."
 
A

Azulsky

Member
kirblar said:
In what world does a Gym Teacher become a principal?
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Leadership skills are not exclusive to individuals that are highly intellectual. Being a principal is about running a school. Its definitely a management position above all else.

My father teaches HS and the principal is the former football coach.
 
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