Dickey v. Crawford County School District
Dickey v. Crawford County School District
Opinion of the Court
ORDER ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Before the Court is Defendant Crawford County School District’s Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 30], Plaintiff Iwanda Dickey contends Defendant unlawfully discriminated against her on the basis of her race in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. (“Title VII”). After fully considering the matter, Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 30] is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Specifically, the Court finds that triable issues of fact exist as to whether Defendant intentionally discriminated against Plaintiffs race (1) when it issued her a two-year contract as Superintendent of the Crawford County School District and (2) when it failed to renew her contract; thus, Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED as to those claims. However, Defendant is entitled to summary judgment on Plaintiffs claim Defendant discriminated against her by directing her to appoint John Douglas as her assistant superintendent; therefore Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED as to that claim.
BACKGROUND
Plaintiff, the first African-American school Superintendent for Defendant Crawford County School District (“School District”), claims that the School District unlawfully discriminated against her on the basis of her race when the Crawford County Board of Education (1) offered and issued her only a two-year contract for Superintendent, as opposed to a three-year contract like her Caucasian predecessors; (2) forced her to hire John Douglas (Caucasian) as her assistant superintendent; and (3) failed to renew her Superintendent contract. The School District argues that all of Plaintiffs claims fail as a matter of law.
Aside from the time, place, and persons involved in the incidents giving rise to this case, the parties’ accounts of material events differ. Although Plaintiffs version of the facts may not be the “actual facts of the case,” the Court is required at this stage of the proceedings to credit Plaintiffs version if there is any evidence to support it.
Plaintiff Iwanda Dickey worked for the School District for almost 30 years, from August of 1977, until December 2006.
The School District is run by the Crawford County Board of Education (“School Board” or “Board”).
Due to the early resignation of Dr. John Harper, the Superintendent immediately preceding Plaintiff, the School Board began interviewing candidates for the Superintendent position in May of 2004.
While interviewing for the Superintendent position, the Board discovered that the State of Georgia had allocated funding for an assistant superintendent position in Crawford County.
Initially, there was a split amongst the five School Board members as to whom they preferred for the Superintendent position. Three preferred Plaintiff; two preferred Douglas. In order to unanimously offer Plaintiff the position, the Board decided to give Douglas the assistant superintendent position.
Prior to the early 1990s, the office of Superintendent was an elected, four-year position. In 1993, the Georgia legislature adopted the current law whereby Superintendents are employed by the local board of education under written contracts for a term of not less than one year and not more than three years.
Since the current law went into effect, the School Board had offered all of Plaintiffs Caucasian predecessors three-year contracts, with the exception being to accommodate a Superintendent’s early departure, resulting in a contract for slightly less than three years.
At least one member of the School Board, Raymond Dickey,
According to Plaintiff, when she met with the Board to accept the Superintendent position, the Board directed her to name John Douglas as her assistant superintendent and conditioned her employment as Superintendent accordingly.
In October of 2005, having served for more than a year as Superintendent, Plaintiff received an evaluation from the School Board with a satisfactory rating of 3.2 on a scale of one to five.
Although the School Board had renewed Dr. Harper’s contract after he served as Superintendent for only one year, the School Board neither offered nor mentioned any renewal and/or extension of Plaintiffs contract. Thus, without inquiring about or requesting an extension, Plaintiff believed her only choice was to retire.
In November of 2005, seven months before her two-year contract was to expire, Plaintiff met with the School Board and requested a six-month extension of her contract, until December 31, 2006, to accumulate the necessary time she needed to fully vest in retirement with the Teacher’s Retirement System of Georgia.
On December 1, 2005, Plaintiff wrote to School District attorney Sam Harben requesting that he draft an extension of her contract. Plaintiff explained that she needed an extension to “have in all the time [she] needed for retirement”
By February of 2006, four months before her contract expired, the Board had not extended her contract. School Board Chair Sellier informed Plaintiff that the Board was inquiring whether it could purchase the time Plaintiff needed to retire
At some point in time prior to the School Board meeting on March 14, 2006, Plaintiff and Sellier travelled to the Blue Bird bus company to look at school buses.
By May of 2006, two months before her contract was to expire, the School Board still had not extended her contract, and teachers began donating their sick time to Plaintiff so that she could fully vest in the retirement plan. Board Chair Sellier also explored the possibility of using Plaintiffs acquired sick leave to make up the time she needed to fully vest.
A month later, at the June 5,2006 Board meeting, the Board learned that over 83 hours of sick leave had been donated by teachers for Plaintiffs use to retire. Despite having directly told the Board that she did not want to retire a month earlier, the Board instructed Plaintiff to check with the Teachers Retirement System to inquire whether the donated sick hours could be used toward the time she needed to vest.
By August of 2006, Plaintiffs initial contract had technically expired, and every alternative the Board had explored as a means for Plaintiff to acquire the time she to vest without extending her contract had proven futile. Thus, on August 8, 2006, Plaintiff signed an addendum to her contract extending her term as Superintendent until December 31, 2006.
At the School Board meeting on November 14, 2006, Board member Raymond Dickey moved to extend Plaintiffs contract expiring on December 31, 2006, for two more years.
At the Board meeting on December 11, 2006, the last meeting before Plaintiffs contract expired, Board member Raymond Dickey again made a motion, seconded by
At the next School Board meeting in January 2007, the School Board appointed John Douglas — Plaintiffs assistant superintendent and earlier candidate for Superintendent — as interim superintendent.
After Plaintiff retired, she was required to remain out of work for one month per the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia.
Plaintiff timely filed a charge of discrimination against Defendant with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) against Defendant School District for unlawful discrimination. After receiving a Notice of Right to Sue from the EEOC, Plaintiff filed this action against the School District contending the School Board unlawfully discriminated against her on the basis of her race by (1) offering her a contract for only two years when her Caucasian predecessors received contracts for three years; (2) requiring her to hire John Douglas as her assistant superintendent; and (3) failing to renew her Superintendent contract. The School District has filed this Motion for Summary Judgment contending each of Plaintiffs claims fail as a matter of law.
LEGAL STANDARD
Under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment must be granted “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
The moving party “always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact” and that entitle it to a judgment as a matter of law.
DISCUSSION
Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies
Prior to filing an action under Title VII, a plaintiff must exhaust her administrative remedies by filing a charge of discrimination with the Equal EEOC.
Defendant argues that Plaintiffs EEOC charge was based solely upon the nonrenewal of her contract, not on the terms and conditions under which she was employed, and therefore Plaintiff failed to exhaust her administrative remedies with respect to any claim related to the length of her contract. As this Court found in its Order on Defendant’s motion to dismiss raising these same arguments, the discrimination claims regarding the terms and conditions of Plaintiffs employment raised in her civil complaint are “reasonably related” to the charges in the EEOC filing.
Merits of Discrimination Claims
Plaintiff brings her discrimination claims pursuant to Title VII and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. When § 1983 is used as a “parallel remedy” to Title VII, as is the case here, the elements of the two causes of
Claims of race discrimination based on circumstantial evidence, as is the case here, are evaluated under the burden shifting framework developed in McDonnell Douglas v. Green.
To establish a prima facie case of race discrimination, Plaintiff must produce circumstantial evidence showing that (1) she is a member of a protected class; (2) she was qualified for the position; (3) she suffered an adverse employment action; and (4) she was treated less favorably than a similarly situated Caucasian individual or was replaced by a person outside of her protected class.
1. Requirement to Hire John Douglas as Assistant Superintendent
Because it is the only claim on which Defendant is entitled to summary judgment, the Court will first address Plaintiffs claim that the Board discriminated against her by requiring her to hire John Douglas as her assistant superintendent. The Court concludes Plaintiff fails to establish her prima facie case because she cannot show hiring Douglas was an adverse employment action.
To satisfy the adverse employment action prong, Plaintiff must show a “serious and material change in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.”
Plaintiff provides no evidence that the appointment of Douglas had any tangible adverse effect on Plaintiffs employment, other than to offer her own subjective and speculative view that she would have selected an individual with whom she could work well and in whom she could trust. In fact, the evidence shows that Douglas and Plaintiff did work well together. Plaintiff gave him a positive evaluation and even specifically complimented him on his work with the finances. Moreover, Plaintiff admits that Douglas was “fair and consistent.”
1. Length of Contract
Plaintiff next claims that the Board discriminated against her in the terms and conditions of her employment because, unlike all of her Caucasian predecessors, Defendant only offered her a two-year, probationary contract.
The School District first argues Plaintiff cannot prove a prima facie case because she never affirmatively asked for a contract longer than two years. The School District analogizes this claim to a failure-to-hire claim in which to prove a prima facie case, the plaintiff is required to establish: (1) she is a member of a protected class, (2) she was qualified for the position and applied for it, (3) she was not considered for the position despite her qualifications, and (4) equally or less qualified individuals outside of her protected class were considered or hired for the position.
The Court, however, is not persuaded by this analogy. The School District points to Siler v. Hancock County, a failure-to-hire case in which this Court found that the plaintiff could not prove a prima facie case of discrimination because the plaintiff was complaining of the defendant’s failure to hire him in positions for which he did not even apply.
The School District next argues that Plaintiff cannot establish her prima facie case because she cannot show that she was treated less favorably than a similarly situated Caucasian Superintendent. Again, the Court disagrees. To show that employees are similarly situated, the plaintiff must show that the employees are similarly situated to the plaintiff “in all relevant respects” but treated differently.
The School District argues that Plaintiff fails to meet the similarly situated requirement because (1) she never asked for a longer contract and (2) the exact term of each Superintendent’s contract varied. First, as stated earlier, the record does not establish that Plaintiffs predecessors were either required to ask for a three year contract or that they in fact did ask for a three year contract. Second, the fact that the exact term of each Superintendent’s contract varied, does not make Plaintiffs predecessors insufficient comparators. The evidence shows that any variances in the length of her predecessors’ contracts were slight — at most only a few months less than three years — and given solely to accommodate mid-year resignations of pri- or Superintendents. Thus, these distinctions do not make Plaintiffs predecessors invalid comparators. The evidence viewed in the light most favorable to Plaintiff is sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Plaintiff was treated less favorably than her Caucasian predecessors as to the length of her contract.
Normally, because Plaintiff has established a genuine issue of material fact as to her prima facie ease on her length of contract claim, the Court would next address whether the School District’s legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for offering Plaintiff a two-year contract is merely pretext for discrimination. However, the School District proffers no argument as to its legitimate reasons for offering Plaintiff a two-year, probationary contract, or as to pretext, and this Court cannot and will not make the School District’s arguments for it.
Finally, Plaintiff contends that the School District’s decision not to renew her contract was unlawfully based on her race. The School District, however, claims their decision was legitimately based on the Board’s sincere belief that Plaintiff wanted to retire and its concerns about Plaintiffs performance.
The Court first finds that Plaintiff has established a prima facie case of discrimination. It is undisputed that Plaintiff is a member of a protected class (African-American) and that she was qualified for the position of Superintendent. Moreover, the Board’s decision to not renew her contract constitutes an adverse employment action,
Because Plaintiff has established her prima facie case of race discrimination, the burden shifts to the School District to set forth a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the non-renewal of Plaintiffs contract. The School District proffers two legitimate reasons — its sincere belief that Plaintiff wanted to retire and its concerns about Plaintiffs performance as Superintendent. Because these reasons are ones “that might motivate a reasonable employer,”
Because the Board has met its burden, Plaintiff must now present sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact that the Board’s proffered legitimate reasons for non-renewal are merely pretext for race discrimination. To establish pretext, a “plaintiff must demonstrate that the proffered reason was not the true reason for the employment decision .... [The plaintiff] may succeed in this either directly by persuading the court that a discriminatory reason more likely motivated the employer or indirectly by
The School District first proffers that the Board did not renew Plaintiffs contract based on its sincere belief that Plaintiff wanted to retire. Plaintiffs testimony that she did not tell the Board she wanted to retire is not enough to establish pretext: The critical inquiry is whether the Board sincerely believed that Plaintiff communicated a desire to retire.
Taking the evidence in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, the Court finds a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether the Board sincerely believed Plaintiff wanted to retire. On the one hand, a reasonable jury could find that the Board held a sincere belief: Plaintiff only ever affirmatively requested an extension of her contract so that she could fully vest in the retirement plan; she never requested an extension for any other reason. In addition, although Plaintiff did not tell Board Chair Sellier at the Blue Bird plant that she wanted to retire, Plaintiff did discuss retirement with her.
On the other hand, there is also evidence from which a reasonable jury could find the Board did not sincerely belief that Plaintiff wanted to retire. In the Spring of 2006, Plaintiff clearly informed the Board that she did not want to retire, stating “No” to a direct question on this subject in front of the entire Board.
The second legitimate reason offered by the School District is the Board’s “concerns about the Plaintiffs performance as Superintendent.”
Although Plaintiff has successfully navigated the McDonnell Douglas framework, establishing genuine issues of material fact as to both her prima facie case of discrimination and as to pretext, the Court must determine if there is enough evidence from which a reasonable jury could determine that the School Board’s non-renewal of Plaintiffs contract was based on her race. “[AJplaintiffs prima facie case, combined with sufficient evidence to find that the employer’s asserted justification is false, may permit the trier of fact to conclude that the employer unlawfully discriminated.”
This Court cannot conclude as a matter of law that no rational factfinder could find the non-renewal of Plaintiffs contract discriminatory. The record here neither “conclusively reveal[s] some other, nondiscriminatory reason for the employer’s decision,” nor shows “abundant and uncontroverted independent evidence that no discrimination occurred.”
CONCLUSION
As set forth above, Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 20] is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to Plaintiffs discrimination claim based on the Board “forcing” her to choose her assistant superintendent is GRANTED. Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to Plaintiffs discrimination claims based on the length of her contract and the renewal of her contract is DENIED.
. McCormick v. City of Fort Lauderdale, 333 F.3d 1234, 1244 n. 14 (11th Cir. 2003) (quotation omitted).
. Pl. Depo., pp. 16-17 [Doc. 30-4],
. Pl. Affidavit, ¶¶ 7 & 8 [Doc. 32-5].
. Ralph Harris Affidavit, ¶ 3 [Doc. 30-8]; Patrice Walker Affidavit, ¶ 3 [Doc. 30-7]; William Walker Affidavit, ¶ 3 [Doc. 30-9]; Lee Sanders Affidavit, Í 3 [Doc. 30-10],
. Ralph Harris Affidavit, ¶ 3 [Doc. 30-8]; Patrice Walker Affidavit, ¶ 3 [Doc. 30-7]; William Walker Affidavit, ¶ 3 [Doc. 30-9]; Lee Sanders Affidavit, ¶ 3 [Doc. 30-10].
. Pl. Depo., p. 161 [Doc. 30-4]; O.C.G.A. § 20-2-101.
. Pl. Depo., p. 17 [Doc. 30-4],
. Id. at p. 34.
. Id.
. Douglas Depo., p. 32 [Doc. 30-12],
. Pl. Affidavit, ¶ 14 [Doc. 32-5],
. Prior to the creation of the assistant superintendent position, curriculum directors acted as assistant superintendents.
. Pl. Depo., pp. 56, 58 [Doc. 30-5].
. Raymond Dickey EEOC Affidavit, p. 3 [Doc. 32-16],
. PL Depo., p. 52 [Doc. 30-5],
. See O.C.G.A. § 20-2-101.
. Def’s Interrogatory Responses, No. 8, pp. 9-10 [Doc. 32-20],
. Id.
. Pl. Depo., pp. 29,170 [Doc. 30-4].
. Id.
. Id. at p. 172.
. Id.
. At all times relevant to this case, Raymond Dickey and Plaintiff were no longer related. Plaintiff had been married to Raymond Dickey's brother at one time. Thus, Raymond Dickey is Plaintiff’s former brother-in-law. Raymond Dickey Depo., pp. 6-7 [Doc. 32-8].
. Raymond Dickey EEOC Affidavit, p. 3 [Doc. 32-14],
. Sellier EEOC Affidavit, p. 2 [Doc. 32-15],
. Sellier Depo., p. 24 [Doc. 30-6],
. Pl. Depo., pp. 34, 49 [Doc. 30-4]; Raymond Dickey EEOC Affidavit, p. 2 [Doc. 32-14].
. Id. at p. 58.
. Id. at p. 57.
. Id. at pp. 75-77.
. Pl. Affidavit, ¶¶ 30; 31-48 [Doc. 32-5],
. Pl. Affidavit, ¶ 74; Pl. Superintendent Contract [Doc. 30-16],
. Pl. Affidavit, ¶ 27; Pl. Superintendent Contract [Doc. 30-16].
. Pl. Affidavit, ¶ 59 [Doc. 32-5],
. Pl. Depo., pp. 90-92 [Doc. 30-4].
. Pl. Affidavit, ¶ 59-60 [Doc. 30-5].
. Pl. Depo., pp. 91-2 [Doc. 30-4]; Letter to Attorney Ben Harben dated Dec. 1, 2005 [Doc. 30-17],
. PL Depo., pp. 145-46.
. Id. at pp. 93-94.
. Id. at p. 95.
. Id. atpp. 99-101.
. Id. atpp. 113-14
. Id.
. Id. atpp. 103-04.
. Id.
. Id. at p. 111.
. Id. atpp. 116-17.
. Id. atpp. 123-24.
. Raymond Dickey Depo., p. 56 [Doc. 30-5].
. Pl. Depo. p. 123 [Doc. 30-4],
. Id.
. Id. at pp. 128-29.
. Id.
. Id. atp. 18.
. Douglas Depo., p. 58 [Doc. 32-7],
. Id. at p. 59.
. Id. at pp. 14, 51.
. Pl. Depo., pp. 18-19 [Doc. 30-4].
. Id. at p. 95.
. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a); see Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
. See id. at 249-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
. Welch v. Celotex Corp., 951 F.2d 1235, 1237 (11th Cir. 1992).
. Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (internal quotation marks omitted).
. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); see also Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 324-26, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
. See Avirgan v. Hull, 932 F.2d 1572, 1577 (11th Cir. 1991).
. Green v. Elixir Indus., Inc., 152 Fed.Appx. 838, 840 (11th Cir. 2005).
. Id. (citing Gregory v. Ga. Dep’t of Human Res., 355 F.3d 1277, 1280 (11th Cir. 2004)).
. Order on Defendant's Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 13].
. See Snider v. Jefferson State Cmty. Coll., 344 F.3d 1325, 1328 n. 4 (11th Cir. 2003) (emphasis omitted); Abel v. Dubberly, 210 F.3d 1334, 1338 (11th Cir. 2000).
. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(l).
. 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973).
. Holifield v. Reno, 115 F.3d 1555, 1562 (11th Cir. 1997).
. Tex. Dep't of Cmty. Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 256, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981).
. Id. at 253, 101 S.Ct. 1089.
. Maynard v. Board of Regents, 342 F.3d 1281, 1289 (11th Cir. 2003).
. Davis v. Town of Lake Park, 245 F.3d 1232, 1238-39 (11th Cir. 2001).
. Id. at 1239.
. Id. at 1238.
. Id. at 1239.
. PL Depo., pp. 164-65 [Doc. 30-4],
. Underwood v. Perry County Comm’n, 431 F.3d 788, 794 (11th Cir. 2005).
. See Siler v. Hancock County, 510 F.Supp.2d 1362 (M.D.Ga. 2007) (plaintiff failed to establish prima facie case of discrimination for failure to hire claim because he could not show he applied for the positions for which he claimed defendant failed to hire him).
. Knight v. Baptist Hosp. of Miami, Inc., 330 F.3d 1313, 1316 (11th Cir. 2003) (quotation omitted).
. See Dickerson v. Peake, Case No. 5:08-CV-392 (CAR), Order on Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, p. 10 [Doc. 40] (“It is the responsibility of the movant to identify its
. Defendant’s argument that Plaintiff did not suffer an adverse employment action because she was not terminated from her position is without merit. Case law clearly supports non-renewal of a contract as an adverse employment action. See, e.g., Brown v. School Bd. of Orange County, Fla., 459 Fed.Appx. 817 (11th Cir. 2012); Saridakis v. South Broward Hosp. Dist., 681 F.Supp.2d 1338 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (and cases cited therein); Johnson v. Bibb County Bd. of Educ., Case No. 5:07-CV-425 (CDL), 2009 WL 1885052 (M.D.Ga. June 29, 2009); Siler v. Hancock County, 510 F.Supp.2d 1362 (M.D.Ga. 2007).
. The School District’s argument that Plaintiff fails to establish she was treated less favorably than a similarly situated individual cannot counter Plaintiff’s prima facie case. Again, case law makes clear that a plaintiff alleging discriminatory non-renewal of a contract may satisfy the fourth element of the prima facie test by demonstrating that she was “replaced by a person outside of his protected class or was treated less favorably than a similarly-situated individual outside his protected class.” Maynard, 342 F.3d at 1289 (emphasis added). See, e.g., Johnson, supra.
. Chapman v. AI Transp., 229 F.3d 1012, 1030 (11th Cir. 2000) (en banc ).
. See Vessels v. Atlanta Ind. School Syst., 408 F.3d 763, 769-770 (11th Cir. 2005) (employer’s burden is exceedingly light and is satisfied as long as the employer articulates a clear and reasonable nondiscriminatory basis for its actions).
. Jackson v. State of Ala. State Tenure Comm’n, 405 F.3d 1276, 1289 (11th Cir. 2005) (emphasis added) (quotations and citation omitted).
. Mayfield v. Patterson Pump Co., 101 F.3d 1371, 1376 (11th Cir. 1996) (quotations and citation omitted).
. Wilson v. B.E. Aerospace, 376 F.3d 1079, 1088 (11th Cir. 2004).
. See Riley v. Birmingham Bd. of Educ., 154 Fed.Appx. 114, 117 (11th Cir. 2005) (plaintiff's evidence he did not make derogatory remarks to students not dispositive as to whether employer sincerely believed plaintiff made the remarks) (citing Vessels, 408 F.3d 763; Elrod v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 939 F.2d 1466 (11th Cir. 1991); and Turner v. Texas Instruments, Inc., 555 F.2d 1251, 1256 (5th Cir. 1977) i'‘Even if [the employer] wrongly believed that [the Title VII claimant] violated this policy, if [the employer] acted on this belief it was not guilty of racial discrimination”)).
. Alvarez v. Royal Atl. Developers, Inc., 610 F.3d 1253, 1266 (11th Cir. 2010).
. Spann v. Cobb County Pretrial Court Services Agency, 206 Fed.Appx. 910, 912 (11th Cir. 2006) (citing Vessels, 408 F.3d at 771).
. Pl. Affidavit, ¶¶ 49, 52 [Doc. 32-5].
. Pl. Affidavit, ¶ 53 [Doc. 32-5] ("I also never told board members that I wanted to retire. It was an assumption Ms. Sellier shared with the board.”).
. Id. at ¶ 54. ("I informed the board that I did not state I wanted to retire. At another time, board member Mr. Lee Sanders asked if I really wanted to retire. I said, "No.” I was clear with the board that I did not want to retire.”).
. Id. at ¶ 58.
. Id. at ¶ 68.
. Def. Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, p. 15 [Doc. 30-1],
. Chapman, 229 F.3d at 1037.
. Def. Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, p. 15 [Doc. 30-1],
. PI. Affid.,1ffl 30, 31-48 [Doc. 32-5].
. Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prod., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 148, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000).
. Id. (emphasis in original).
. Id.
. Id. (citations omitted).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Iwanda DICKEY v. CRAWFORD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
- Status
- Published