A Howard County jury awarded $235,000 to a high school teacher after ruling Tuesday that the county school system created a hostile work environment.
“From our perspective, this case isn?t just about the individual, but about the county public school system that lets this behavior go unchecked,” said Mike Coyle, a lawyer representing Centennial High School teacher Michelle Maupin. She claimed she was harassed because she is black and retaliated against after filing a complaint. She now teaches at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia.
The school system?s attorney, Daniel Scherr, and Chief of Staff Mamie Perkins declined comment.
Board of Education Member Sandra French said, “There have been [harassment and discrimination] policy upgrades since the time of the case.”
But Coyle said the school board conducted “a perfunctory investigation” and said it “didn?t have any interest in truly investigating the problem and stopping it.”
The school board will pay $225,000 in compensatory and punitive damages for harassment and retaliation, while the remainder will be paid by former Centennial Principal Lynda Mitic, current Centennial Principal Scott Pfeifer and Centennial English teacher Margaret Polek, Coyle said.
Allegations outlined in the 2005 lawsuit include:
» Mitic saying black people were not intelligent enough to teach and were not capable of being nurturing and caring;
» Mitic allowing parents to harass Maupin at a parent-teacher conference;
» Maupin having problems receiving school supplies;
» Students who disagreed with her grading being transferred to other classes.
“Everything that came out at the trial is from two years ago,” said Pfeifer, who declined further comment.
