Teacher who sued county placed on leave
Violation of civility policy, hostility toward pupils and staff cited, teacher says
By Jennifer Broadwater
jbroadwater@patuxent.com
Posted 10/02/08
In an interview with the Howard County Times, Michelle Maupin said Wilde Lake administrators informed her at the end of the school day Sept. 25 she was being placed on paid administrative leave and escorted her off the property, but did not tell her at that time why the action was being taken.
Since then, Maupin and her lawyer, Dawn Martin, said they were told at a meeting with a school official Oct. 2 that Maupin was placed on leave because she had created a hostile work environment for her colleagues, including physical threats, that she had violated the system’s civility policy and demonstrated hostility toward students.
Maupin said the claims were “ridiculous.”
Martin said she considers the rationale offered by school officials to be too vague, in part, because they would not tell her who had lodged complaints against Maupin.
On Sept. 25, administrators directed Maupin to remove her personal belongings from her classroom, she said, adding that she is unsure of the length of the leave period.
“I’d like to know exactly what the deal is,” Maupin said. “I’m not concerned because I know I haven’t done anything wrong.”
When asked about Maupin’s status with the school system, spokeswoman Patti Caplan said Maupin was still employed, but declined to elaborate, citing the privacy of personnel issues.
Maupin, who is black, sued the school system and administrators at Centennial High School in 2005, claiming that she had been subjected to racial harassment at the Ellicott City school. School officials denied the accusations.
After a trial in June and July 2007, a jury found Maupin had been subjected to a “race-based hostile work environment.”
School officials initially appealed the verdict, but eventually dropped the appeal and in April reached a $253,979 settlement with Maupin.
In late August, Maupin filed a second lawsuit against the school district accusing the school board and staff at Wilde Lake High School of unwarranted retaliatory actions stemming from the first lawsuit.
A letter to Maupin, obtained by the Howard County Times, from central office administrator Daniel Michaels on Sept. 26 informed her that she could schedule an appointment “to discuss the incidents and/or allegations” behind the forced period of leave.
“While on administrative leave you are not to enter Wilde Lake High School or be on school grounds without the consent of the principal or my office,” the letter states. “You are directed to restrict any contact with the faculty, parents, or students of Wide Lake High School.”
Maupin’s attorney, Dawn Martin, called the action “outrageous” and retaliatory.
“It’s doing tremendous damage to her reputation,” she said. “All her students think she’s been fired. ... The whole town thinks she’s been fired.”
Martin also said she feels that the conditions of Maupin’s leave — instructing her not to communicate with her colleagues or students — are unjust, considering that Maupin lives in Columbia and is neighbors with many who work or attend the school.
“She lives in this community,” Martin said. “They’re trying to ostracize her in her own community.”
This article has been updated from an earlier version.
user comments (6)
user intheknow says...
She is indeed bringing that second lawsuit. She doesn't need your encouragement. And the "them" she is suing is you. Your tax money paid her first quarter million, and now is paying her salary while she doesn't teach your kids.
I've worked at Wilde Lake for six years, and I've never seen anybody harass or mistreat Michelle Maupin. But I have seen her not teaching while she was drawing a paycheck. And I don't know anyone, herself included, who could or would dispute it.
Posted 10:28 PM, 10.01.08
user exinsider says...
Former students at Centennial High know the "secret": Maupin was an incompetent teacher, abusive of students and staff. Her defense is to sue, and sue again. But the secret is getting harder to hide with time.
Posted 6:10 PM, 10.06.08
user drroberts49 says...
I don't wish to get into who is right and who is wrong in this matter. I had no prior knowledge of Ms. Maupin's issues before coming to Wilde Lake. What I do know is derived from my daughter's attendance in her English class last year. My daughter is not a genius, but she is an honor student, plays both in Marching Band and Wind Ensemble, and is currently showing an A in her English Honors class. This is her Senior year at Wilde Lake.
As a parent I take special interest in how all my children are doing in school. My son also attended Wilde Lake and I've always found it to be an outstanding school with a top notch staff. That was until last year.
I was not happy in how my daughter struggled in her English class that year. I found her assignments to be vague and lacking in direction or purpose. I found some of the corrections and comments to my daughter's work as unfounded and in some instances, incorrect. Despite my attempts at communicating my concerns, I was never contacted directly. Knowing my daughter's capabilities and command of English, her mother and I decided it was best to simply ride out the year. I hold degrees in Anthropology and Geology from California State University, Fresno. My x-wife has her MBA from Johns Hopkins and is currently working towards her Phd. We have instilled in our children the value of an education. I have recently considered going into the teaching profession myself, and would be proud to teach at Wilde Lake. I wish no ill towards Ms. Maupin, but I think she seriously needs to look at another vocation. I don't believe that teaching is her true calling.
Posted 8:08 PM, 10.06.08
user trugrit1965 says...
I have known Michelle for many years. The fact of the matter is that her principal was not fair to her and she has a right to stand up for herself.
Michelle has only worked at Wilde Lake for four years and unless you have been in every meeting with her you don't know what happened to her so don't comment on things you don't know. And if she didn't teach her students, they would have fired her and not put her on paid leave. Think before you make silly statements.
Stop spreading lies about her. You need to think about how they are treating her. If they did this to her, they will not hesitate to do this to anyone else who does not agree with THEM. This did not have to happen.
Don't blame her for being placed on paid leave; she didn't ask for this to happen. The school system is wasting money doing this. They should have allowed her to do her job and they should get over the fact that the lost that case. She won.
Michelle is a very kind person who spends a great deal of her time and resources on her students. She has never been abusive; if she had been they would have reason to fire her and not place her on leave.
Why is it so easy for people to make her out to be the angry black woman when she has never presented herself that way to anyone. You people should be ashamed of yourselves; its easy to lie about someone behind the veil of an anonymous email address.
Posted 1:41 PM, 10.07.08
user givemeabreak says...
Howard County teachers and school admin. are some of the most tolerant and liberal members of our community. if they were ever abusive towards this moron, it wasn't because she is black; it's because she is a jerk. fortunately for her, she has the perma-excuse of racism. anytime any adversity pops up in your life, it's not b/c of you...it's b/c a racism...BS!
I wonder if this second incident happens to coincide with "Michelle" running through the money from the first settlement. I mean, how much cocoa butter, menthol cigs, and lotto tix does $250K buy anyway???
Posted 3:13 PM, 10.07.08
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