Beverly Hills High School Principle Alleges Racial Discrimination

     Discrimination is usually defined as an action that denies social participation or human rights to a person or group of people based on prejudice. Racial discrimination differentiates individuals on the basis of real and perceived racial differences.

On Wednesday, July 16, 2014, Beverly Hills High School principal, Carter Paysinger, filed a lawsuit against the Beverly Hills Unified School District (the “District”) and Board of Education (the “Board”) member Lewis Hall claiming to be the victim “of a malicious campaign of discrimination and retaliation”.

     Paysinger is the first African-American principal in the high school’s 87 year history.  Paysinger’s entire professional career, which spans the course of four decades, was spent working for BHUSD; first as the high school’s long time football coach, next as a teacher, and ultimately as the high school’s principal since 2010.

     Paysinger alleges that he has been a target of the Board’s racism on multiple occasions. The story first broke on TMZ, website notorious for celebrity gossip. The 31-page complaint filed against the District seeks an unspecified amount of reparation and demands a trial by jury for each and every claim made in the suit.

    The lawsuit alleges that BHUSD Vice President, Brian Goldberg, admitted that “it would be easier for Mr. Paysinger if he had lighter skin.” Goldberg, alongside many others, believes the suit to be a publicity stunt, telling The Beverly Hills Courier that the lawsuit is meant to attract public interest in Paysinger’s upcoming book release that he co-wrote with former board member, Steven Fenton. The book, titled Where A Man Stands: Two Different Worlds, An Impossible Situation, And The Unexpected Friendship That Changed Everything, is scheduled for release this upcoming November.

    In May, the Board of Education rejected Paysinger’s claim that the District leaked a draft of an investigation into Paysinger’s financial dealings to the Los Angeles Times. The investigation suggested that Paysinger received financial benefits from registration fees paid to the Beverly Hills Sports Academy. Paysinger allegedly failed to report these benefits in his legally required Statement of Economic Interests Form 700. The Los Angeles County District Attorney ultimately decided not to continue an investigation into Paysinger’s financials.

     An online petition in support of Carter Paysinger has been circulating the internet in support of Carter Paysinger. The petition states that Paysinger has been “instrumental in creating a first class academic environment” and that Paysinger is one of the only people at Beverly Hills High School to be “in touch with the history and cultural makeup of the school”. Currently, the petition has over 200 signatures.

    Although it is unclear as to what exactly is expected to come out of a trial by jury, Paysinger and his legal team claim in the complaint that they would like this lawsuit to “expose [BHUSD’s] pervasive misconduct and make sure no employee or student in the Beverly Hills Unified School District will ever again be judged by the color of his or her skin…for exercising his or her rights.”

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