A former high school teacher is suing a central Michigan school district over her dismissal, which she claims was because she’s a lesbian and led a club that celebrated Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Month.
Brook Johnson filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday in Flint against the Corunna Public Schools as well as a handful of school officials, citing a violation of her First Amendment rights, The Argus-Press of Owosso reported.
The diversity club Miss Johnson advised placed a gay pride flag and photos of several prominent gay and lesbian individuals in a school display case back in 2009. The Corunna school board voted to take down the display, but Miss Johnson said the board decided to put it back up only after the American Civil Liberties Union got involved, WJRT reports.
The teacher says she got negative evaluations solely because she was involved with a diversity club.
“I had seven observations in a three-month period and they got worse and worse, they would find different things that I was not doing right,” she said.
She claims the evaluations resulted in her contract not being renewed in 2011, CBS Detroit reports.
“We are alleging violations with the U.S. Constitution, specifically the First Amendment, which is freedom of speech. We all have a right to voice our opinion without being retaliated [against] based on our speech,” Miss Johnson’s attorney, Jonathan Marko, told ABC12.
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