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Suit: Round Lake school district fired woman for being Hispanic

Former bilingual coordinator sues District 116

A former bilingual education coordinator claims in a federal employment discrimination lawsuit that she was fired from Round Lake Area Unit District 116 because of her Hispanic ancestry.

Claudia Vroman of Antioch contends in the complaint that after one academic season as bilingual coordinator, she was transferred to an assistant principal post at William J. Murphy Elementary School in Round Lake Park for 2013-14. She claims in the suit the qualifications for District 116's bilingual education coordinator were altered and the job was filled for 2013-14 by a white woman who doesn't speak Spanish.

District 116's executive director of teaching and learning, Keely Roberts, purportedly wanted Vroman “removed from the position of bilingual coordinator because she was Hispanic and expressed support for Spanish-speaking students,” according to the suit filed in U.S. District Court last week. Vroman was wrongfully terminated as assistant principal after 2013-14 because of her Hispanic ancestry and Colombian national origin, the complaint alleges.

District 116 spokeswoman Heather Bennett issued a statement Thursday in response to Vroman's lawsuit.

“We cannot discuss the details of pending litigation, but beginning in 2013, these same allegations were brought before the Illinois Department of Human Rights and ultimately the (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission),” the statement said. “The EEOC did not find any violation of Ms. Vroman's rights. We are confident that the court will come to the same conclusion once it has heard the evidence.”

Vroman's lawsuit involves a district where 72 percent of 7,276 students are identified as Hispanic in the 2013-14 Illinois State Board of Education report card. Her attorney, Ed Mullen, said Thursday he intends to amend the complaint to add two other former District 116 educators with discrimination accusations similar to Vroman's.

In the suit, Vroman states she was hired as District 116's bilingual coordinator in July 2012. Born in Colombia and a U.S. citizen since 1985, Vroman said her education, experience and fluency and literacy in Spanish qualified her to handle bilingual education programs.

Vroman, who now works for the state board of education, claims she frequently expressed concern to Roberts about the district not providing enough support or appropriate services to Spanish-speaking students.

“Parents also complained about the support and services provided to Spanish-speaking students, but their concerns were ignored,” according to the complaint.

Vroman contends she was demoted to assistant principal and denied a raise for 2013-14.

The suit also alleges Murphy Elementary Principal Philip Georgia placed her on a performance improvement plan, despite her receiving a proficient evaluation for the 2012-13 academic year.

After lodging a discrimination complaint with the state's Department of Human Rights in October 2013, Vroman received a right-to-sue letter from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after an investigation in December 2014.

Vroman said in the lawsuit she was harassed by district officials and told her contract as assistant principal would not be renewed after she filed the complaint with the Department of Human Rights.

She seeks unspecified compensatory damages, including back pay, and attorneys' fees.

Along with District 116, Superintendent Constance Collins, former human resources vice president Lee Palmer, Georgia and Roberts and are named individually as defendants in the lawsuit.

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