On April 26th, 2026, Kennedy Hunt P.C. filed a complaint against the Columbia Public School District in the Circuit Court of Boone County, alleging violations of the Missouri Human Rights Act. According to the lawsuit, our client, an African American female, was hired by the Columbia Public School District as an assistant principal in 2014 and was then promoted to principal of West Middle School in 2017.
In 2018, our client filed a lawsuit against the school district, alleging that the district failed to promote her to a high school principal position because of racial discrimination.
In July 2020, the district installed a new Superintendent. The lawsuit alleges that the Superintendent requested a list of individuals who had sued CPSD and stated that he wanted to “get rid of” those individuals.
Between 2021 and 2024, the lawsuit contains allegations that Defendant’s senior administrators repeatedly harassed and targeted our client because of her race and her prior protected activity. The lawsuit alleges that our client was told by CPSD senior administrators that she was considered “an angry Black woman” and that CPSD made baseless accusations of policy violations against our client.
According to the lawsuit, CPSD did not treat similarly situated non-Black employees and/or employees who had not engaged in protected activity in this manner.
The lawsuit states that in Spring 2024, our client started planning the middle school’s annual Back-to-School Bash, a community engagement event that she had organized and led for approximately eight years.
By March 2024, our client had scheduled the Bash for Friday, August 16, 2024, reserved the venue, notified partner organizations, and informed CPSD of the date. Our client was the primary organizer and oversaw all event operations.
On May 26, 2024, our client learned that CPSD’s superintendent scheduled the back-to-school Convocation to occur at the same date and time as the Bash. According to the lawsuit, the Convocation had never been held on a Friday afternoon, and when she learned of the conflict, our client immediately notified her supervisor and another senior administrative staff at CPSD. The lawsuit states that both were aware that our client’s attendance at the Bash was essential and did not inform our client at that time that she would be required to attend the Convocation instead.
The lawsuit alleges that on August 7, 2024, the day after our client sent out the invitation for Bash to West Middle School Families, a senior administrative leader informed our client for the first time that she would be disciplined if she did not attend the Convocation.
According to the lawsuit, CPSD refused to process our client’s request for time off so she could attend the Bash. Our client then attended the Bash rather than the Convocation.
The lawsuit states that on or about August 23, 2024, CPSD suspended our client and placed her on administrative leave, pending investigation, claiming our client violated District policy by failing to attend the Convocation and engaging in other misconduct.
According to the lawsuit, other employees who were non-Black and/or had not engaged in protected activity also failed to attend the Convocation but were not suspended or disciplined.
The lawsuit states that on or about November 12, 2024, Defendant informed our client that she would not be permitted to return to work and that her contract as Principal of West Middle School would not be renewed. Our client remained on administrative leave for the remainder of the 2024–2025 school year. On or about June 30, 2025, CPSD terminated our client’s employment.
This case is ongoing. For more information, contact attorney Nicole Matlock at nmatlock@kennedyhuntlaw.com. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, our skilled attorneys at Kennedy Hunt, P.C. may be able to help you. Fill out a questionnaire so we can understand your claim.