By Molly Tippen, The Inkster Ledger Star
February 2005
The legal battle between the Inkster-Edison Schools and former superintendent has come to an end after two years of legal wrangling.
Lawyers for Terry Boguth, 51, reached an out-of-court settlement with the district last month, according to the former superintendent's attorney, Jim Fett of the Pinckney-based firm Fett & Fields.
"We have reached a settlement in the case which resulted in its dismissal," Fett said. The case was settled for an undisclosed sum. The terms of the agreement were confidential, he added.
Boguth, who is white, sued the district for reverse racial discrimination in 2003. She claimed in her lawsuit that she was "subjected to comments by some board members on a regular basis regarding the race of different individuals, including myself."
The complaint also claimed in court papers that one board member referred to her as the "great white hope," in reference to her race. She also alleged some board members discouraged the hiring of non-African Americans.
Board members and school officials have denied the claims.
Judge Wendy Baxter at Wayne County Circuit Court will approve the agreement sometime next week, Fett said.
Boguth, now the superintendent of Coloma Community Schools, was hired by the district as the business manager in 1998. In 2001, she was promoted to superintendent. In February 2002, she received a critical performance review and was placed on a forced vacation. The vacation resulted in the loss of her job, she said in deposition. The suit claimed that Edison Schools - the entity that is responsible for all personnel matters and day-to-day operation of the schools - failed to address Boguth's allegations.
The former superintendent asked for compensatory damages in excess of $500,000 for back pay, vacation time, damages and legal fees.
Liability insurance will likely cover the cost of the settlement, said Howard Morris, the district state-appointed financial manager.
At least one official from the schools said, on the condition on anonymity, that he thought the district would lose the case because of statements that were made about Boguth.
"I knew that we were going to lose this," he said, adding that he's glad the issue is now resolved.
Boguth was the last of five superintendents to helm the district in the five years before then-governor John Engler appointed Morris the financial manager of the district. Since August 2002, Morris has handled most of the operation aspects of running the district with the assistance of Edison Schools personnel.
The district is holding interviews for a superintendent next week to take over the district when Morris completes his third appointment in August.
