Former Baltimore School System Employee Files Bias Suit

The Baltimore Sun reports that according to the complaint, at a staff meeting in December 2006 Robert Shank was singled out and praised by the chief operating officer for the school system, who used Shank as a model for the rest of the group, saying, “If Shank can do it, so can the rest of you.” Shank’s attorney said Shank became a target because of “the general circumstances of his being recognized” by Scroggins, who is black, and that after the meeting, his relationship with some workers “changed drastically.”  

According to the news report, the suit claims that three black high-ranking managers in the system’s operations office “created and falsified an escalating series of disciplinary actions against [Shank] and false and unfavorable performance assessments.” The lawsuit alleges that the managers were targeting “the stupid white boy,” who had outshined them at the meeting. Shank’s attorney said there were witnesses to these statements.  

Shank had a flawless three-year record before the alleged discrimination started.