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School urges dismissal of discrimination suit
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Senatobia Municipal School District is calling for the dismissal of a discrimination lawsuit filed against the school district by a former custodian.
George A. Edwards filed a discrimination lawsuit against the school district in March 2012. Edwards, an African American, claims to have been falsely accused of stealing a Caucasian teacher's cell phone and fired because of his race, according to court records.
If the case is dismissed, it would not be the first of the former employee's claims to have been dismissed, as a judge overseeing the case on behalf of the U.S. District Court has already ruled against Edwards on claims of discrimination based on Edwards' age and gender, according to court documentation.
In the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Greenville, Edwards claims he was wrongly accused of stealing the teacher's phone. Edwards also alleges that only African American employees were questioned about the missing phone, which disappeared on August 1, 2011, according to court records.
In Edwards' formal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge, which was filed on February 28, 2012, he said that he entered and exited the classroom in question as he would any other classroom, but did not remove any items from anyone's classroom.
In court documents, the school district argues that Edwards had been fired not because of his race, but because "video footage placed him at the scene." The school district also argued that, because Edwards' replacement was also an African American male, Edwards' claim of racial discrimination is therefore discredited.
When reached for comment, Edwards stated that he would need to speak to his attorney before commenting on the case.
When contacted, Senatobia Municipal School District Superintendent Jay Foster declined to comment on the case.
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©The Democrat 2013
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