Arnita Johnson v. Douglas County School District, et al.

FILED
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
APRIL 17, 2012
JOHN LEY
CLERK
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 11-11761
________________________
D.C. Docket No. 1:09-cv-01023-ODE
ARNITA JOHNSON,
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellant,
versus
DOUGLAS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT,
CONSTANCE CRAFT,
individually and in her official capacity as
Principal of Douglas County High School,
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Defendants - Appellees,
DOUGLAS COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION,
and its members, et al.,
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Defendants.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Georgia
________________________
(April 17, 2012)

-- 1 of 3 --

Before EDMONDSON and WILSON, Circuit Judges, and VINSON, District Judge.*
PER CURIAM:
Arnita Johnson, a 50-year-old African-American female, brought suit
against her employer, Douglas County School District, and against Douglas
County High School Principal Constance Craft (collectively “Defendants”)
alleging race discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2 (“Title VII”) and 42
U.S.C. § 1983, and age discrimination under 29 U.S.C. § 623 (“ADEA”). Johnson
appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants.
Under McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Greene, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S. Ct. 1817
(1973), if a plaintiff establishes a prima facie case of disparate treatment and the
employer proffers a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for its employment
action, the plaintiff must then show that the proffered reason is merely a “pretext
for unlawful discrimination.” Burke-Fowler v. Orange Cnty., 447 F.3d 1319,
1323 (11th Cir. 2006) (per curiam). Here, the district court found that Johnson
established a prima facie case of discrimination and that Defendants provided four
legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for removing Johnson from her position as
co-chair of the science department: (1) Johnson sent mass emails to the faculty
Honorable C. Roger Vinson, United States District Judge for the Northern District of*
Florida, sitting by designation.
2

-- 2 of 3 --

expressing discontent with administrative decisions, (2) Johnson repeatedly and
publicly questioned the credentials of a colleague, (3) Johnson was unwilling to
accept a classroom without a laboratory and involved students in the controversy,
and (4) Johnson undermined student and parent confidence in the school’s
International Baccalaureate program.
Upon reviewing the record, reading the briefs, and with the benefit of oral
argument, we find that Johnson has not provided sufficient evidence to indicate
that the legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons provided by Defendants were a
pretext for race or age discrimination. Furthermore, she has not shown that her
removal would not have occurred but for Defendants’ discriminatory animus.
Thus, the district court did not err in granting Defendants’ motion for summary
judgment.
AFFIRMED.
3

-- 3 of 3 --