An Ann Arbor school principal has broken her silence about her abrupt leave of absence from Lawton Elementary, filing a lawsuit alleging discrimination.
Shannon Blick, 39, filed a $5 million federal lawsuit Saturday, July 20, against the Ann Arbor Public School District, its board, Superintendent Jeanice Swift and other administrators.
Taneia Giles wanted her job for “Diversity”
The lawsuit, filed by Ann Arbor attorney William G. Tishkoff, said that Blick faced racial discrimination, was forced into paid leave, stripped of her duties as principal and deprived of her right to free speech when she was asked to tell supporters not to comment on her behalf at a public school board meeting.
In addition to financial compensation, Blick is asking her full duties as principal be restored. Blick, who is white, also claims civil rights violations. The lawsuit alleges Blick was removed from her job based, in part, on racial bias stemming from a district goal of promoting minority teachers and administrators.
“The Ann Arbor Public Schools has not been served with a copy of the complaint,” Ann Arbor Public Schools spokesman Andrew Cluley told the Ann Arbor News/MLive. “The AAPS does not comment on pending litigation or personnel matters.”
Blick’s lawsuit alleges that Ann Arbor school district officials “maintain a custom, policy and practice of: treating Caucasian and nonminority administrators disparately and less favorably than similarly situated African-American and minority administrators; subjecting Caucasian and nonminority administrators to hostility and harassment in the workplace based on their race; accelerating the promotion and advancement of African-American and minority administrators at the expense, and to the detriment, of Caucasian and nonminority administrators.”
In the suit Blick was forced out because she is white, Taneia Giles a black Lawton Elementary School Assistant Principle was trying to steal her job, to have a Black principal vs a white. They also set up a false story that she was sleeping with the janitor that stole money, an old 62 year old black man named Willie Joe Johnson, 62 that conspired with Giles to set up Blick. They later blackmailed Blick saying they won’t go public with the story alleging she was part of the theft if she quits.
Johnson is also named in a lawsuit filed by Shannon Blick.
Human Resources Director Shonta A. Langford, Lawton Elementary School Assistant Principal Taneia Giles and others worked together to try and force Blick’s resignation so that Giles could have her job.
Hired as principal of Lawton Elementary School in September 2013, the district announced her indefinite leave in a message to parents on May 1.
The lawsuit alleges the district “constructively terminated” Blick on April 26 when it forced her to take leave, in part because of her race, and also because Assistant Principal Taneia Giles, who is black, wanted Blick’s job.
Shannon Blick may be too white for the job. The push for Diversity lead to a discrimination lawsuit.
Blick’s lawsuit alleges that Ann Arbor school district officials “maintain a custom, policy and practice of: treating Caucasian and nonminority administrators disparately and less favorably than similarly situated African-American and minority administrators; subjecting Caucasian and nonminority administrators to hostility and harassment in the workplace based on their race; accelerating the promotion and advancement of African-American and minority administrators at the expense, and to the detriment, of Caucasian and nonminority administrators.”
When Blick on April 26 met with the Executive Director of Elementary Education Dawn Linden and Human Resources Director Shonta A. Langford, both also defendants in the lawsuit, they handed her a letter stating she was being placed on administrative leave and was no longer allowed to enter school grounds or interact with teachers, students or staff, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also claims Langford sent Blick a text message on April 30 instructing her to submit a formal letter of resignation by June 30 in order to stop a investigation into a janitor that stole money while employed by the district.
On May 7, Blick appeared for a requested meeting with Linden and others. Linden indicated a group of parents planned to speak in support of Blick at the May 8 Board of Education meeting, and asked Blick to contact the parents and demanded she tell them not to speak, the lawsuit alleges.
Blick has three children who were attending Ann Arbor Public School District and claims she was banned from attending certain events, including her fifth-grader’s graduation, and blocked from fully communicating with teachers, due to her suspension.
Despite being placed on leave, Blick remains listed as the acting principal of Lawton Elementary School on its website.
Following Blick’s departure, the district hired Dottie Davis, who retired in 2018 after nearly 40 years with Ann Arbor Public Schools, to fill in as “guest” principal at Lawton at a salary equivalent to nearly $120,000 per year.
Several parents expressed safety concerns about how the ongoing litigation could impact student safety amid a recent rash of mass shootings, parent Vanina Gilmore urged parents to keep in mind that teachers and staff at Lawton are doing everything they can to make sure their children are safe.
“To be honest, this lawsuit, this media attention doesn’t make me any more or less afraid to send my kids to school,” Gilmore said.
While a couple of parents expressed a desire for armed security at Lawton, other parents were vehemently opposed to the idea.
“At this point, (Ann Arbor police) do not feel that is needed,” Swift said of armed security. “We will gauge that. … There’s a spectrum (of opinions) there, but we do follow the guidance of the AAPD, and if it’s needed, they will be here and they will stay on site if they need to.”
