Black Teacher Wins Discrimination Case

An African American teacher in Howard County has been awarded more than $200,000 in damages after a jury found that she had been discriminated against by the school system and her former supervisors.

A Howard Circuit Court jury ruled late Monday that Michelle Maupin, who was the only black teacher when she came to Centennial High School in August 2003, had been subjected to a race-based hostile work environment and retaliation by school administrators when she complained about her treatment at the school.

Maupin, 38, said the problems began almost immediately and continued until she transferred to another school in July 2005. She was working as an English teacher and asked for assistance from the administration after in one instance some parents tried to pull students from her class. Instead, she said, the school retaliated with what she felt were racially inappropriate comments, among other actions.

She left a meeting with one supervisor, she said, "in tears" because of offensive comments. At one point, she said, she found a picture of an apelike image on her desk.

"They focused on me and made it seem as if I was the problem," Maupin said.

Maupin said the jury awarded her $192,000 in compensatory damages and $45,000 in punitive damages, the bulk of which are to be paid by the county Board of Education.

This from the Washington Post.

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A petition against Ms Maupin: "created by Centennial High School and written by Patrick Shepard and this one created by Maupin's students and also written by Patrick Shepard. Washington Post article from April 27, 2005.