Arnold v. Weld Cnty. Sch. Dist. Re-5J

677 F.Supp.3d 1218

Leslie ARNOLD, Plaintiff, v. WELD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT RE-5J,Michael Wailes, in his individual capacity, Nate Sassano,in his individual capacity, Sara Hall, in her individual capacity, and Jeremy Scott,in his individual capacity, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 22-cv-01068-NYW-KLM

United States District Court, D. Colorado

Signed June 14, 2023

Charles G. Crosse, IV, Crosse Law, LLC, Denver, CO, Robert Gerald Goodwin, Seth J. Benezra, Taylor Jon Volkman, John A. Culver, Benezra & Culver, P.C., Denver, CO, for Plaintiff.

Holly Eileen Ortiz, Mary Barham Gray, Molly Hart Ferrer, Semple Farrington Everall & Case, P.C., Denver, CO, for Defendants.

ORDER ON MOTION TO DISMISS

Nina Y. Wang, United States District Judge

This matter is before the Court on Defendants' Motion to Dismiss First Amended Complaint and Jury Demand (the "Motion" or "Motion to Dismiss"). [Doc. 34, filed September 6, 2022]. The Court has reviewed the briefing on the Motion and the applicable case law, and concludes that oral argument would not materially assist in the resolution of this matter. For the reasons set forth herein, the Motion is respectfully DENIED.

BACKGROUND

The Court takes the following facts from the First Amended Complaint and Jury Demand ("First Amended Complaint") [Doc. 31, filed August 22, 2022] as true for purposes of this Order. In July 2018, Defendant Weld County School District RE-5J ("District") hired Plaintiff Leslie Arnold ("Plaintiff" or "Ms. Arnold"), an experienced educator and school administrator, to serve as Superintendent of Schools. [Id. at ¶¶ 13-14]. The "hiring process" for the position "was competitive and involved the interviewing of a pool of candidates." [Id. at ¶ 14]. As Superintendent, Ms. Arnold "overs[aw] the implementation of policymaking decisions rendered by" the District's Board of Education ("Board"). [Id. at ¶ 15]. Although she had a seat at Board meetings, she could not vote on policy. [Id.]. According to her contract, she administered the District pursuant to "Board policy and the requirements, directives, regulations, and guidelines of the Board." [Id.].

In 2020, following "outstanding performance," Ms. Arnold received a salary increase and a new contract. [Id. at ¶ 14]. Ms. Arnold subsequently earned "glowing reviews" for her work during the 2020-2021 school year, including from Defendant Michael Wailes ("Defendant Wailes" or "Mr. Wailes"), the Board's President; Defendant Jeremy Scott ("Defendant Scott" or "Mr. Scott"), the Board's Treasurer; and Defendant Sara Hall ("Defendant Hall" or "Ms. Hall"), the Board's Secretary. [Id. at ¶¶ 16-20]. Again, the District extended Ms. Arnold's employment and increased her salary. [Id. at ¶ 22]. Around this time, the Board's Director was Defendant Nate Sassano ("Defendant Sassano" or "Mr. Sassano") and its Vice President was Peggy Wakeman ("Ms. Wakeman").¹ [Id. at ¶¶ 8, 10].

The District has a nondiscrimination policy ("Policy") that is contained in a handbook ("Handbook") provided to students and employees every school year. [Id. at ¶ 23]. Parents of children enrolled in the District must acknowledge receipt of the Handbook before their children may attend school. [Id.]. The Policy prohibits discrimination "on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, religion, ancestry or need for special education services." [Id. at ¶ 24]. The Policy's objectives include "investigat[ing] and resolv[ing] promptly any complaints of unlawful discrimination and harassment," and "investigat[ing] and appropriately disciplin[ing] staff and students found to be responsible for incidents of harassment or unlawful discrimination in violation of Board policy." [Id. at ¶ 25]. Employees must take action to correct Policy violations. [Id. at ¶ 26].

In early 2021, Ms. Arnold received several complaints from staff members, parents, and students at Roosevelt High School ("RHS") about Principal Brian Littlefield ("Principal Littlefield"). [Id. at ¶ 27]. Situated within a "greater context of significant historical problems at RHS with discriminatory behavior and language," these employees and community members claimed that Principal Littlefield "responded inappropriately to race-related issues, made derogatory comments regarding the LGBTQ community, and treated female employees differently and less favorably than male employees." [Id.]. The First Amended Complaint recounts several specific controversies:

- Principal Littlefield had a teacher remove a "Black Lives Matter" sign from her classroom in response to a January 2021 parental complaint, but permitted another teacher to keep a "Blue Lives Matter" flag. [Id. at ¶ 28]. At a meeting to address the matter, at or after which it was decided to remove both signs, Principal Littlefield did not view the disparity as a racial issue, even as he selected Assistant Principal Michael Curtis ("Mr. Curtis"), who is Black,² to handle the situation, saying "Michael is black and he can take care of it." [Id. at ¶ 29]. According to attendees, Principal Littlefield was "insensitive to racial issues and dismissive of the perspective of those who were not white." [Id.].

- After the boys' basketball coach used an offensive racial slur in connection with his players' technique at a varsity game in February 2021, Principal Littlefield rebuffed the athletic director's insistence that the coach be terminated and said that they needed to hear from the coach's supporters. [Id. at ¶ 30]. Principal Littlefield told Ms. Arnold "this is how sports go" and did not view the matter as a "big deal," although many in the community, including Black teachers and students, were offended by the comment, and the athletic director received a complaint from a Black parent about racial issues at RHS. [Id.].

- At a virtual pep rally a week later, a student changed his screen name to evoke a racial slur, offending many students and staff. [Id. at ¶ 31]. Mr. Wailes called the incident "really bad" in a text message to Ms. Arnold. [Id.]. In contrast, Principal Littlefield "downplayed the situation and merely said 'kids will be kids,' " failing to act and dismissing the notion that he should consult with Black staff members. [Id. at ¶ 32]. "Staff at RHS subsequently grew frustrated by Principal Littlefield's insensitivity and lack of response." [Id.].

- Principal Littlefield dismissed a female administrator's ideas without consideration but entertained the same ideas when suggested by a man. [Id. at ¶ 33]. Principal Littlefield "routinely interrupted and ignored" this administrator and a female middle school principal, and "snapped" at them repeatedly. [Id. at ¶ 34]. He also favored his male subordinates and would exclude the female administrator and principal from plans and committees. [Id.]. A group of female teachers formed a group to discuss their dismissive treatment by Principal Littlefield. [Id.].

- At a training related to LGBTQ issues, Principal Littlefield "stated that he could not speak his mind because he was in a group with 'that guy', a reference to a teacher Littlefield mistook to be gay based on the teacher's mannerisms." [Id. at ¶ 35]. Principal Littlefield told District employees that he needed to shower after being around gay people. [Id.].

- Discussing the Homecoming court, Principal Littlefield told the cheer coach: "If you take over you've got to promise me that we will have a true king and true queen for homecoming. We're not Boulder." [Id. at ¶ 36 (emphasis in original)]. The cheer coach understood these comments to refer to excluding transgender students. [Id. at ¶ 37].

- Principal Littlefield mocked Colorado Governor Jared Polis's sexual orientation, saying that he "hate[d]" and "couldn't stand" having a first gentleman instead of a first lady. [Id. at ¶ 38 (alteration in original)]. He connected masking requirements during COVID-19, which he disdained, with "having gay decision-makers in Colorado." [Id.].

- Principal Littlefield mocked Mr. Scott "with a high-pitched voice and a hand gesture," to suggest that he was gay and/or effeminate. [Id. at ¶ 39].

- At an RHS volleyball game in late February 2021, RHS students "singled out and harassed the lone Black student on the opposing school's team and barked at the student." [Id. at ¶ 40]. After Principal Littlefield had the athletic director investigate the incident and declined to engage with the students involved, teachers complained that Principal Littlefield "was not properly addressing racial bias and hostility" at RHS. [Id. at ¶ 41]. Ms. Arnold had Principal Littlefield attend a diversity training. [Id. at ¶ 42].

On March 1, 2021, Ms. Arnold and Cara Anderson ("Ms. Anderson"), the Director of Human Resources, met with Principal Littlefield to discuss these incidents. [Id. at ¶¶ 36, 43]. Around this time, Ms. Arnold received reports that one Black employee "believed that he had been subjected to racial discrimination by Principal Littlefield," and that another "was deeply frustrated and offended by the racial incidents" at RHS. [Id. at ¶ 44]. Ms. Arnold asked Ms. Anderson to open an investigation into Principal Littlefield pursuant to the Policy. [Id.].

On March 4, 2021, Ms. Arnold and Ms. Anderson brought their concerns about Principal Littlefield's conduct to Board members Mr. Wailes and Ms. Wakeman. [Id. at ¶ 45]. At that meeting, Ms. Arnold and Ms. Anderson learned that Principal Littlefield had filed grievances against them, alleging that they "were discriminating against him because he is a white, conservative, Christian male." [Id.]. The District retained a third party to investigate all of these complaints. [Id. at ¶ 46]. In an April 18, 2021, report, the investigator concluded that the allegations against Ms. Arnold and Ms. Anderson were meritless, but that "almost every allegation brought against Principal Littlefield was substantiated." [Id. at ¶¶ 47-48]. Mr. Wailes later confirmed via email that Principal Littlefield's...