Post by TEAM FALCON on May 20, 2012 19:23:15 GMT 3
silvia atkinson hires brother over qualified teachers......yup, that sounds like her.
www.brownsvilleherald.com/articles/school-138430-discrimination-bisd.html
Lawsuit claims BISD discrimination
March 26, 2012 10:10 PM
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By GARY LONG/The Brownsville Herald
A former Porter High School track and cross country coach has amended a racial discrimination lawsuit that he filed against the Brownsville Independent School District in 2010 after the district hired former city commissioner Charlie Atkinson for a physical education teaching position at Faulk Middle School.
Michael A. Alex, who is black and has been unable to obtain a position with BISD since a 1995 incident in which he was fired, claims in the amended lawsuit that racial discrimination is the reason he has not been rehired. Alex filed the original lawsuit on Dec. 14, 2010, when Brett Springston was BISD superintendent.
BISD fired Alex in May 1995 after an 18-hour hearing before the Board of Trustees determined he had shown students a graphic sex guide. Hearings subsequently were held before the Texas Education Agency, and the NAACP also investigated the case.
According to Herald archives, Alex showed copies of the graphic sex guide "Anne Hooper’s Pocket Guide to Sex" to students. The incident caused an uproar in which Alex lost his job, appealed the decision to the TEA in Austin and lost but ultimately was cleared to teach again.
An online search at the State Board of Educator Certification showed that Alex holds a valid lifetime teaching certificate for secondary health education and secondary physical education. Although the certificate is valid for life, it was revoked from Sept. 6, 1996 through March 26, 2001.
Alex amended the racial discrimination lawsuit after BISD hired Atkinson for the Faulk position.
Atkinson was hired under an alternative certification program. District spokeswoman Drue Brown said at the time that obtaining a teaching position often is part of the alternative certification process. Brown said it is "not uncommon" for someone to be hired while in an alternative certification program and to obtain their teaching certificate while in their first teaching job. She said the district has a number of such teachers.
In response to a public information request last month about Atkinson’s status, BISD said he is currently on a probationary certificate, which will expire on Oct. 19.
The district said Atkinson has passed both the Pedagogy and Professional Responsibility (PPR) and Physical Education (PE) content exam, which are required for him to be recommended for a standard certificate.
"After completion of his one year internship, Mr. Atkinson will be recommended for a standard certificate," the district said.
As regards the hiring process, BISD said it has hired six applicants this school year to fill physical education/health positions at five campuses. The BISD hiring process has clearly defined steps. It is the Human Resource Department’s role to qualify applicants. Qualified candidates are then screened and interviewed by campus personnel. Ultimately, it is the principal who makes a recommendation to hire an applicant to fill a BISD campus position.
On Monday, Alex’s attorney John Shergold took depositions in the case from Atkinson and Sylvia Atkinson, BISD’s assistant superintendent for Human Resources, who is his sister.
BISD had sought to block the depositions, but retired Starr County District Judge Alex Gabert ordered them taken following a March 9 hearing on the matter.
Brown said BISD would not comment on the case because "BISD does not comment on personnel matters or ongoing litigation."
Gabert set the case for trial on May 7 in 138th state District Court. Gabert was appointed to the case after 138th state District Judge Arturo Cisneros Nelson recused himself.
The lawsuit states that BISD has hired "less qualified, less educated and less experienced employees" than Alex since at least October 2009, the date the district certified him in good standing.
"There is work that is available that Plaintiff is qualified for, however Defendant refuses to employ Plaintiff because of his race," the lawsuit states.
"Incredibly, a person named Charlie Atkinson was hired by (BISD) on Oct. 18, 2011, although he did not possess a valid teaching certificate to teach physical education classes at Faulk Middle School," the lawsuit states. "Mr. Atkinson is non-African American. Plaintiff (Alex) was not interviewed or even considered for the position ... although superiorly more qualified than Atkinson."
In 2010, Alex was not hired for a health and physical education teaching position at Brownsville Early College High School. During a grievance hearing before BISD Board of Trustees at the time, it was revealed that the person hired had only a bachelor’s degree and was white, when Alex has a master’s degree.
As evidence of discrimination, the lawsuit states that according to information provided by BISD in March 2010, the district had only 13 employees out of 7,726 total employees who were African American, or black.
The lawsuit seeks actual damages from "lost earnings in the form of back pay, lost wages, front pay, retirement benefits, fringe benefits, lost future earnings and/or diminished earning capacity to the extent permitted by law."
Additionally, the lawsuit seeks compensation for past and future mental anguish "including but not limited to sleeplessness, depression, anxiety, agitation and loss of self-esteem."
www.brownsvilleherald.com/articles/school-138430-discrimination-bisd.html
Lawsuit claims BISD discrimination
March 26, 2012 10:10 PM
ShareThis| Print Story | E-Mail Story
By GARY LONG/The Brownsville Herald
A former Porter High School track and cross country coach has amended a racial discrimination lawsuit that he filed against the Brownsville Independent School District in 2010 after the district hired former city commissioner Charlie Atkinson for a physical education teaching position at Faulk Middle School.
Michael A. Alex, who is black and has been unable to obtain a position with BISD since a 1995 incident in which he was fired, claims in the amended lawsuit that racial discrimination is the reason he has not been rehired. Alex filed the original lawsuit on Dec. 14, 2010, when Brett Springston was BISD superintendent.
BISD fired Alex in May 1995 after an 18-hour hearing before the Board of Trustees determined he had shown students a graphic sex guide. Hearings subsequently were held before the Texas Education Agency, and the NAACP also investigated the case.
According to Herald archives, Alex showed copies of the graphic sex guide "Anne Hooper’s Pocket Guide to Sex" to students. The incident caused an uproar in which Alex lost his job, appealed the decision to the TEA in Austin and lost but ultimately was cleared to teach again.
An online search at the State Board of Educator Certification showed that Alex holds a valid lifetime teaching certificate for secondary health education and secondary physical education. Although the certificate is valid for life, it was revoked from Sept. 6, 1996 through March 26, 2001.
Alex amended the racial discrimination lawsuit after BISD hired Atkinson for the Faulk position.
Atkinson was hired under an alternative certification program. District spokeswoman Drue Brown said at the time that obtaining a teaching position often is part of the alternative certification process. Brown said it is "not uncommon" for someone to be hired while in an alternative certification program and to obtain their teaching certificate while in their first teaching job. She said the district has a number of such teachers.
In response to a public information request last month about Atkinson’s status, BISD said he is currently on a probationary certificate, which will expire on Oct. 19.
The district said Atkinson has passed both the Pedagogy and Professional Responsibility (PPR) and Physical Education (PE) content exam, which are required for him to be recommended for a standard certificate.
"After completion of his one year internship, Mr. Atkinson will be recommended for a standard certificate," the district said.
As regards the hiring process, BISD said it has hired six applicants this school year to fill physical education/health positions at five campuses. The BISD hiring process has clearly defined steps. It is the Human Resource Department’s role to qualify applicants. Qualified candidates are then screened and interviewed by campus personnel. Ultimately, it is the principal who makes a recommendation to hire an applicant to fill a BISD campus position.
On Monday, Alex’s attorney John Shergold took depositions in the case from Atkinson and Sylvia Atkinson, BISD’s assistant superintendent for Human Resources, who is his sister.
BISD had sought to block the depositions, but retired Starr County District Judge Alex Gabert ordered them taken following a March 9 hearing on the matter.
Brown said BISD would not comment on the case because "BISD does not comment on personnel matters or ongoing litigation."
Gabert set the case for trial on May 7 in 138th state District Court. Gabert was appointed to the case after 138th state District Judge Arturo Cisneros Nelson recused himself.
The lawsuit states that BISD has hired "less qualified, less educated and less experienced employees" than Alex since at least October 2009, the date the district certified him in good standing.
"There is work that is available that Plaintiff is qualified for, however Defendant refuses to employ Plaintiff because of his race," the lawsuit states.
"Incredibly, a person named Charlie Atkinson was hired by (BISD) on Oct. 18, 2011, although he did not possess a valid teaching certificate to teach physical education classes at Faulk Middle School," the lawsuit states. "Mr. Atkinson is non-African American. Plaintiff (Alex) was not interviewed or even considered for the position ... although superiorly more qualified than Atkinson."
In 2010, Alex was not hired for a health and physical education teaching position at Brownsville Early College High School. During a grievance hearing before BISD Board of Trustees at the time, it was revealed that the person hired had only a bachelor’s degree and was white, when Alex has a master’s degree.
As evidence of discrimination, the lawsuit states that according to information provided by BISD in March 2010, the district had only 13 employees out of 7,726 total employees who were African American, or black.
The lawsuit seeks actual damages from "lost earnings in the form of back pay, lost wages, front pay, retirement benefits, fringe benefits, lost future earnings and/or diminished earning capacity to the extent permitted by law."
Additionally, the lawsuit seeks compensation for past and future mental anguish "including but not limited to sleeplessness, depression, anxiety, agitation and loss of self-esteem."