Guidance Counselor Sues Fayette schools

alleges gender discrimination

Jill L. Cowan, a Jessie Clark Middle School guidance counselor, has filed a lawsuit in the Fayette Circuit Court alleging she was denied an opportunity for promotion to assistant principal because of her gender.

This from the Herald-Leader:

Fayette Public Schools spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said the district has turned the suit over to its attorneys for review. "We fully intend to contest these unfounded allegations in court," Deffendall said. "There have also been some discussions about the possibilities of a countersuit."

According to Cowan's complaint, she called Goodin in early July 2007, asking to be included among individuals being interviewed for associate principal. The suit says, however, that Goodin denied the request. Goodin allegedly told Cowan that she intended to hire a man and advised that she was interviewing men only.

Clearly, Goodin had no obligation to grant an interview to any particular candidate. If Cowan didn't get an interview because Goodin perceived her work to be substandard, then Goodin did her job. But if Cowan has corroboration on the alleged remarks attributed to Goodin it could prove problematic for the district.

Cowan says in her suit that the job ultimately went to a male and that when she complained to Michael Ernst, the district's middle school manager, he did nothing.

The suit says Cowan contacted the school district's civil rights compliance officer on April 11, 2008, only to be suspended from her job the same day...