http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/053106/met_83519.shtml
Deal gets OK'd
Total for taxpayers comes to $435,000
By Greg Gelpi | Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
The final price tag for a federal discrimination judgment against the Richmond County Board of Education is $435,000.
The school board approved the negotiated settlement offer with Ellen Cauthen on Tuesday night after a nearly hourlong closed-door meeting. A jury found that Dr. Cauthen, a former school administrator, who is white, was transferred illegally based on her race.
School board attorney Pete Fletcher, who negotiated the settlement on behalf of the board, broke down the $435,000 for board members.
About $31,000 will cover court costs, he said. The settlement also stipulates that $25,000 be given to Laney High School to establish a scholarship fund for students.
In March, a federal jury awarded Dr. Cauthen a $258,000 judgment. Her attorneys, in turn, sought reimbursement of their legal fees from the school system. That would have brought the cost up to almost a half-million dollars.
The reduced settlement will likely be paid out of this year's budget and come out of the school board's reserve funds, Mr. Fletcher said. But that hasn't been decided.
Also, as part of the settlement, school records will show that Dr. Cauthen retired as an assistant principal, rather than as a teacher.
The settlement was approved by the board in an 8-1-1 vote, with Barbara Padgett voting against it and Joe Scott out of his seat at the time of the vote.
The school board had appealed the legal loss, but the settlement agreement ends the appeal.
Board member A.K. Hasan commended Dr. Cauthen's decision to include the scholarship in the settlement.
The board took no other actions based on its closed-door discussions.
Mr. Hasan said after the meeting that talks could resume next week on Superintendent Charles Larke's contract, which board members have been discussing for several weeks.
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"A careful study of anti-semitism prejudice and accusations might be of great value to many jews,
who do not adequately realize the irritations they inflict." - H.G. Wells (November 11, 1933)
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[color="Blue"](Another case involving this same clothed ape.
I wonder if this victim was white as well?)

Superintendent Charles Larke
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/051706/met_81735.shtml
Teacher targets Larke in lawsuit
By Greg Gelpi | Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Rejected sexual advances led to retaliation by Richmond County schools Superintendent Charles Larke, a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges.
In 2001, Dr. Larke invited teacher Lori Myles to go to Jamaica with him and other educators on school business, according to the lawsuit filed against the superintendent and the school board. Ms. Myles claims that while on that trip, Dr. Larke made "certain advances of a sexual and intimate nature," which she rejected.
Since then, she has applied for assistant principal, principal and other positions as they became vacant, but the superintendent never recommended her for those promotions, the lawsuit said. Ms. Myles met the advertised requirements for those positions and wasn't promoted, while on "various occasions" employees not meeting those requirements were promoted to those positions.
Dr. Larke's actions were done with "malice and reckless intent," the lawsuit said.
Ms. Myles complained to the school board and the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, the agency that issues teaching certificates, about the practices, the lawsuit said.
"Following plaintiff's complaints, she was told by Larke that she should refrain from speaking out or otherwise making such complaints about the hiring practices taking place within the school district if she wanted to receive a promotion," the lawsuit said. "Larke has failed to recommend plaintiff for any new positions as a means of retaliating against her for speaking out against the hiring practices of defendants."
Ms. Myles also alleges he further retaliated against her by delaying the reimbursement of $5,000 in work-related expenses and "interfering" in the awarding of a scholarship for her daughter.
The suit requests back pay for the promotion she should have received, interest and punitive damages.
Calls to Dr. Larke for comment weren't immediately returned.
School board attorney Pete Fletcher's office said the lawsuit hadn't been served on them as of Tuesday afternoon and, therefore, wouldn't comment.
According to a Georgia Department of Education database, Ms. Myles is a vocational teacher at T.W. Josey High School and an 18-year veteran of the school system.
In March, the school board lost a federal discrimination lawsuit filed against it and Dr. Larke. Former Principal Ellen Cauthen was awarded $258,000 in that judgment.
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"A careful study of anti-semitism prejudice and accusations might be of great value to many jews,
who do not adequately realize the irritations they inflict." - H.G. Wells (November 11, 1933)
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http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/052706/met_83089.shtml
Complaints multiply after claim
Teacher filing suit has 20 citations
By Greg Gelpi | Staff Writer
Saturday, May 27, 2006
The number of complaints against a Richmond County teacher quadrupled after she filed a complaint against the superintendent, according to her personnel file.
Lori Myles, a T.W. Josey High School teacher, filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month alleging sexual harassment and retaliation for rejecting Superintendent Charles Larke's advances and complaining about the school system's hiring process.
School system spokeswoman Mechelle Jordan said, however, that a screening committee never recommended her for promotion. The committee interviews all candidates and recommends the top two to the superintendent, and Ms. Myles was never in the top two.
The superintendent, in turn, makes a recommendation to the school board, she said.
Mrs. Jordan said officials wouldn't have considered the personnel file unless Ms. Myles was one of the two finalists for a position.
Ms. Myles' personnel file includes a stack of 20 complaints against her, ranging from a dress code infraction to an inch-thick internal investigation file into allegations that she sold grades. The investigation cleared her.
The teacher's attorney said the personnel file only bolsters his case.
"This is your retaliation," Brian Watkins said. "You have it in your hands."
Ms. Myles was hired by the school system Aug. 20, 1987. The first complaint was put in her personnel file almost 15 years later - on Aug. 14, 2002.
In November 2000, she went with Dr. Larke and other school employees on a business trip to Jamaica, during which, she alleges in her lawsuit, he made sexual advances toward her.
Mr. Watkins said his client took the invitation to go to Jamaica to mean she was a valued employee who would positively represent the school system.
Four more complaints were placed in her personnel file before Ms. Myles filed her own complaint.
Mr. Watkins said his client filed a complaint against Dr. Larke with the Professional Standards Commission in March 2004. The commission investigates complaints of ethical violations by educators and is responsible for issuing teaching certificates.
By law, the commission had to notify the superintendent that a complaint had been filed against him.
From that time to the present, there have been 15 complaints documented in Ms. Myles' personnel file.
Mr. Watkins answered questions by phone and said he didn't have a copy of the personnel file. He said he assumes there must be two files because Ms. Myles has seen her personnel file and it includes letters of recommendation and other documentation of her positive performance.
No such records were found in the documents given to The Augusta Chronicle in response to an open records request for her personnel file.
Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.
TIMELINE
Aug. 20, 1987: Lori Myles is hired by the Richmond County school system.
November 2000: Ms. Myles alleges Superintendent Charles Larke made sexual advances during a business trip to Jamaica.
Aug. 14, 2002: The first complaint is placed in Ms. Myles' personnel file. It alleges she didn't attend a department meeting.
Aug. 14, 2002, to March 2004: Four more complaints are placed in her file.
March 2004: Ms. Myles files a complaint against Dr. Larke with the Professional Standards Commission.
March 2004 to Present: Fifteen more complaints are placed in Ms. Myles' personnel file.
June 2, 2004: An internal investigation is conducted into whether she had been selling grades.
June 14, 2004: School board police investigate whether she ransacked her classroom.
June 24, 2004: The school investigation clears Ms. Myles of selling grades. There is no documented finding of the investigation into the ransacked classroom in her personnel file.
Sources: Richmond County Board of Education and federal court records
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"A careful study of anti-semitism prejudice and accusations might be of great value to many jews,
who do not adequately realize the irritations they inflict." - H.G. Wells (November 11, 1933)
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Exhibit no. 934850937398 that proves that jews or niggers should never be in a position where they have authority over Aryans.
"People, look at the evidence the truth is there you just have to look for it!!!!!" - Joe Vialls
Fight jewish censorship, use
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