A former Jefferson City High School English teacher has sued the school district, alleging she was subjected to age and gender discrimination, and harassment by the school's administrators.
In her petition to the court, Laura Cooper - who worked in the Jefferson City School District for 18 years until her resignation in May - alleges she was "obligated to work in an environment that was hostile to female employees."
It is the second lawsuit in recent months. In late July, journalism teacher Karen Ray filed a suit alleging concerns similar to Cooper's.
According to Cooper's lawsuit, Assistant Principal Jeff West entered her classroom two years ago and confronted her about reporting safety concerns regarding students riding on the hoods of cars.
The plaintiff's suit states: "West threatened her that she shouldn't have reported this, because it made the school look bad, and (she) needed to avoid similar reports in the future."
A month later on a parent-teacher night, West entered Cooper's office and "cornered her" behind her desk.
"He stated, "You look scared of me. Are you scared?' Ms. Cooper felt embarrassed, and afraid," the suit contends.
West then told Cooper that school administrators were giving her Honors II English classes to a younger teacher who had never taught before. When Cooper asked why the change was being made, West stated, "You've done a very good job, but are getting older, and ready to retire." He also insisted she turn over her instructional materials to the new teacher, "or else," according the suit.
As the defendant, the school district has not yet had a chance to answer Cooper's charges. However, the district's response - which will include a petition to dismiss the case - will be filed within 30 days, said Tom Mickes, the attorney representing JCPS.
Mickes said Cooper had opportunities to file a grievance. She could have voiced her complaints up the chain of command to the superintendent and the school board, he noted.
"And, she wouldn't do that," he said. "Litigation is not a great way to resolve disputes."
He suggested following the district's grievance procedures would have led to a better outcome.
"But that didn't happen," he added.
Asked if the district has a chance of prevailing, Mickes responded: "Yes. I expect so. But the case will likely be tried to a jury, and there aren't any guarantees. But I'm very comfortable with everything that was done. I think Human Resources Director Penny Rector did an exceptional job."
Cooper's lawsuit intersects with Ray's.
Ray's lawsuit notes in May 2013 two assistant principals - West and David Wilson - confronted Ray outside her classroom. When she tried to return, Wilson blocked her way. Ray reported the incident to Dodson the next day.
Cooper also accuses Wilson of pacing outside her classroom so she couldn't leave and pursuing her down the hallway.
When she did leave, she ran into another teacher's classroom and got behind the desk. "Ms. Cooper found this incident intimidating, offensive and embarrassing," according to the suit.
Later in May, both teachers met with Board of Education member Joy Sweeney to report incidents of "discrimination, harassment and bullying, including the incidents of Ray being assaulted." Cooper said the incidents would be documented by the school's security cameras.
According to the suit, Rector was asked to review those recordings, but did not do so.
At the start of the new school year in fall of 2013, Cooper met with Rector to state she felt uncomfortable having West as her supervisor. Rector, according to the suit, told Cooper she was "engaging in illegal conduct and was hindering her investigation."
By the end of September, Cooper received a letter from Rector stating she had conducted an investigation and found no discriminatory conduct by school administration.
Cooper notified the district in March 2014 she was going to resign at the end of the school year because of "retaliation and the refusal to remedy the hostile work environment at JCHS."
In May, according to Cooper's suit, Rector confronted Cooper for making "disparaging remarks" about administrators, placing her on administrative leave. Later that day, after receiving communication from Cooper's attorney, Rector rescinded the suspension, according to Cooper's suit.
Other contentions of the lawsuit include:
• Cooper was denied recognition - awards and invitations to faculty breakfasts - extended to younger faculty members, while older teachers were subjected to increased scrutiny of their work performance, in order to find a pretext for disciplining them.
• She heard discriminatory comments from her supervisors, such as "we have a lot of old, stagnant teachers around here that we need to get rid of" and "we've got a lot of dead weight around here." In addition, school administrators encouraged new teachers to stay away from older teachers because they would only "drag them down."
• After an ice-related injury in early 2013, she was berated and bullied by West when she returned to work.
• Administrators bullied and intimidated teachers when they raised legitimate concerns about school curricula, student safety and harassment of female teachers.
• At the end of the 2013 school year, all JCHS teachers were mandated to complete a climate and culture survey, which confirmed many teachers witnessed bullying and harassment of veteran, female teachers.
In conclusion, the petition argues Cooper was "obliged to work in an environment that was hostile to female employees" and "this harassment and discrimination was sufficiently pervasive to alter the conditions of Cooper's employment and create a working environment which was intimidating, insulting and abusive."
Cooper's suit asks for "fair and reasonable" damages and to recover her attorney's fees and costs.
The district's response will resemble the one filed with the Missouri Human Rights Commission, Mickes said. It will include denials and a recitation of all the efforts administrators took to reach out to Cooper.
"We'll defend the lawsuit vigorously," he said. "We'll file motions similar to what we filed in the Ray case and put it before the court."
The lawsuit comes on the heels of significant upheaval in the district's leadership structure. Earlier in the month, the district announced the resignation of Principal Paul Dodson. On Wednesday, Superintendent Brian Mitchell announced he would be retiring at the end of the school year.
Asked if the two lawsuits had any bearing on their decision to leave the district, Mickes noted the two men had different reasons.
"Dr. Dodson, throughout his time he spent with Jefferson City, has been very close to his students and very concerned about their education," Mickes said.
Mickes said he believed Dodson - whom he credited with recent improvements in graduation rates - may have felt the turmoil was "distracting from the education of those kids."
"And so he decided to take himself out of that equation," Mickes said. "Hopefully, people would focus on what's best for children. And that remains to be seen if that will happen or not."
Mickes noted Mitchell was "eligible for retirement."
"Missouri has a very nice retirement system for educators. And the superintendent's job is very demanding," he added.
Asked about the notion older teachers were "dead weight" or "stagnant," Mickes denied such statements had been made.
"Those statements were not made. Totally false," he said, noting those allegations will be refuted in the legal process.
He said claimants during grievance-mediation procedures may make allegations without having to prove them. In a court of law, the bar is higher.
"Now you can't just say things. You've got to prove them. So, we'll see," Mickes concluded. "My fondest hope is people remember everyone should be focusing on what's best for children and making statements that advance the interests of those kids."