Mary Kay Thomas v. Marshall Public Schools, et al.

Minneapolis, Minnesota employment law lawyers represented the Plaintiff who sued asserting claims under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.



Thomas was employed by the District for nearly 30 years, beginning as a

teacher and then as the middle school principal for 15 years. In December 2019,

Thomas decided to implement an "inclusion project.” As part of the project, she

used District funds to create a flag display in a common area of the school. On behalf

of the District, she purchased approximately 30 flags—including a Pride flag. The

flags were placed by school staff.



Following the flag placement, Thomas emailed school staff informing them

that the inclusion project was part of her "personal/professional goals.” In the email,

Thomas also disclosed that she was establishing a new task force specifically

focused on inclusion. Controversy arose almost immediately when some staff and

community members objected to the inclusion of the Pride flag in the display. When

some teachers expressed concern that Thomas was inappropriately "pushing”

LGBTQ+ issues that they felt unprepared to discuss with middle schoolers, the then

School Board Chair, Jeff Chapman, asked Thomas to remove the Pride flag.



District Superintendent Scott Monson initially supported the decision to

remove the Pride flag, but he quickly reversed his position once he consulted with

the District's legal counsel. When the issue was presented to the School Board, the

Board decided to allow the flag display to remain. During this time, Thomas

continued to show support for LGBTQ+ students by hanging signs, giving the staff

Pride "ally” stickers to display, and confiscating a student petition seeking to have

the Pride flag removed.



On June 1, 2020, while the schools were operating remotely due to the

COVID-19 pandemic, the Board met in a closed session with its legal counsel.

Following that meeting, the Board adopted a statement reaffirming its decision that

displaying the Pride flag was consistent with District policy and it could remain

displayed when classes resumed in the fall. Every Board member except Chapman

voted in favor of the reaffirmation. Superintendent Monson resigned at the end of

the 2019–2020 academic year and Jeremy Williams succeeded him.



When in-person classes resumed, Thomas helped create a new student

organization, the Gay-Straight Alliance ("GSA”), guiding students through the

District's official process for approving a new club. A group of staff reported to

Superintendent Williams that Thomas sent an email to them directing them to

promote the GSA to students regardless of their personal beliefs. Numerous staff

members also expressed their opinions that Thomas had adopted a "divisive”

leadership style, her conduct had created a negative workplace, and she was

improperly pressuring others to endorse LGBTQ+ advocacy.



In December 2020 and again in February 2021, Superintendent Williams

asked Thomas to consider a reassignment from the principal position to a different

role within the District to ward off a formal investigation. Thomas declined and

shortly thereafter sought supporters—both inside and outside the District—seeking

letters of support directed to Superintendent Williams and the Board praising her

record and supporting her against the allegations made by the discontented teachers.



At a closed Board meeting on March 1, 2021, Superintendent Williams

informed the Board of staff complaints, noting that most were general complaints of-4-

a divided culture and accusations of unprofessional leadership. The Board decided

to retain an outside law firm to conduct a formal investigation, and placed Thomas

on paid administrative leave. While the investigation was ongoing, Thomas filed a

discrimination charge with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. During

this entire time, some outside community members continued to press the Board to

remove the Pride flag or include opposing viewpoint flags such as a "Straight Pride”

flag and other flags referencing religious or ideological positions.



In May 2021, the investigator's report concluded that Thomas's conduct

contributed to staff discontentment and created "a negative, divided, and

uncomfortable work environment.” The report further found that Thomas had

"violated the common-sense expectations of professionalism and ethics generally

placed on public school administrators.” In response to the report, the District

offered Thomas a severance package, but she refused the offer. In June 2021,

Williams suspended Thomas for a week without pay, removed her as principal, and

reassigned her to the position of "Coordinator of Special Projects.” The Board

ratified this decision, including the new job assignment. The District also notified

Thomas that she was suspended due to leadership difficulties with school staff.



Thomas commenced this action alleging state claims based on reprisal for

associating with members of the LGBTQ+ community and for rejecting sexual

advances, and federal claims premised on associational sex discrimination and

retaliation. Following cross-summary judgment motions, the district court found

Thomas had engaged in government speech, which was not protected by the First

Amendment.

The district court further found that Thomas did not present sufficient

evidence to show any speech she made as a private person was a substantial or

motivating factor in the District’s decision to take adverse action against her. The

district court dismissed Thomas’s federal claims with prejudice and declined to

exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state claims, dismissing them

without prejudice.



Affirmed