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Former administrator files bias case against Philly School District

Bridget Taylor Brown's federal civil rights suit against the Philadelphia School District alleges that she was discriminated against, wrongfully filed, and subjected to a hostile work environment by three white administrators who schemed to terminate her on false grounds.

Bridget Taylor Brown has filed a civil rights suit against the Philadelphia School District alleging she was discriminated against and wrongfully fired  from her administrative position.
Bridget Taylor Brown has filed a civil rights suit against the Philadelphia School District alleging she was discriminated against and wrongfully fired from her administrative position.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

For nearly 13 years, Bridget Taylor Brown worked in the Philadelphia School District department that tries to prevent bullying, and dispatches counselors and psychologists to schools when trauma occurs.

In February, she was fired as director of prevention and intervention, a job for which she was paid more than $82,000.

In a federal civil rights suit filed against the district last month, Brown, who is African American, alleges that she was discriminated against and subjected to a hostile work environment by three white administrators who schemed to terminate her on false grounds.

The case is somewhat unusual. Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. is African American, as is Karyn T. Lynch, the chief of student support services, who oversees the department where Brown worked.

"In my complete, total time with the district, I had never had a write-up before," Brown, 43, said. "So to go from never having a write-up to termination is just odd."

District spokesman Lee Whack said he could not comment about any aspect of the case because it is a personnel matter and is involved in ongoing litigation.

None of the three women named as defendants in Brown's suit could be reached for comment: Lori Paster, the deputy chief for prevention and intervention, who was Brown's supervisor; Rachel Holzman; and Jody Greenblatt.

Brown's suit alleges that even before Paster joined the district in March 2016, Holzman and Greenblatt engaged "in an ongoing campaign of race-based discrimination" that included undermining the supervision of her staff,  meddling in the management of Brown's team, complaining that she and her team "were not performing up to par," and attempting to disrupt payroll procedures.

The women excluded Brown from meetings and prevented her and members of her staff from gaining access to information they needed to carry out their responsibilities, the complaint says.

The filing in Brown's case says she complained to Lynch that "this was a racially motivated affair and that the racial tension in the office had become unbearable."

Matters came to a head in January when Paster rated Brown's performance unsatisfactory and gave "falsely stated reasons" for placing her on a 30-day performance improvement plan, the suit says. Brown said she was terminated the next month for what the district called "improper conduct."

Her suit is seeking more than $150,000 in damages and attorneys' fees and costs.