Seven Hispanic Students Win $500K Settlement After Being Forced to Eat on the Floor in NJ School as Punishment
- Posted on August 15, 2012 at 8:51am by
Erica Ritz
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(AP File Photo)
The Camden Board of Education has agreed to pay $500,000 to seven students who were forced to eat their lunch off the school floor as “punishment,” according to reports.
What was the offense? Apparently in February 2008, one of the children was told to change the water jug from a cooler and spilled some of the water. Consequently, all 15 students in the predominantly Hispanic class were forced to eat off the floor, while the other students sat at their regular tables. According to Reuters, they weren’t even allowed to have trays, but were told to eat off of thin “paper liners” usually placed on trays. The Courier-Post adds that even students who were absent that day were subject to the “continuing punishment.”
(Related: Disturbing Viral Video Shows Middle Schoolers Abusing and Threatening Bus Monitor)
Though the courts found that the incident was not racially motivated, the February 2008 incident reportedly sparked racial tensions in the city between the black and Hispanic populations. The administrator who allegedly ordered the punishment, Theresa Brown, was black and seemingly targeted the Hispanic students with the collective disciplinary action.
“The African American kids were eating at tables, with trays, taunting these Hispanic kids who were forced to eat on the ground,” the students’ lawyer Alan Schorr said.
But that’s not the worst of it.
When one of the children’s teachers, Jose Rivera, found out about what was happening and concluded that the soon-to-retire principal wanted no part of it, he told the children to tell their parents and instructed them on how to contact the school board.
He was summarily dismissed from his position for “conduct unbecoming a board employee,“ though after the incident got national press coverage the board changed the reason to ”insufficient certification.”
And what of the administrator who ordered the punishment? The school board reportedly transferred her to a vice principal position nearby.
ABC6/WPVI has video of the small protests:
“These kids have a tough enough life without being bullied by their own administration,” Schorr told Fox News. “Hopefully this settlement will give them a head start toward college.”
The lawyer reportedly said little else except that the woman’s continuing employment “speaks for itself.”
Under the settlement, the seven students who decided to take part in the case will split $280,000, and lawyer will get $220,000. Rivera, the teacher who encouraged his students to tell their parents, was previously awarded a $75,000 settlement, $50,000 of which went to Schorr.
The school board did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement, but the DOE rejected Brown‘s claim that there simply weren’t enough tables and chairs for the students.
According to the Courier-Post, a number of council members are upset that Brown was transferred to a respectable position nearby, rather than fired.
The now-retired principal commented at the time: “We apologize to the parents. We apologize to the children. We apologize to the community…We’re regretful this action took place in one of our schools.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Comments (40)
thegreatcarnac
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 4:09pmCamden is a black town. Why did the blaze show little white kids in a Cafeteria? Camden doesn’t have that many whites in the town…period. The woman who made the kids sit on the floor is black. The kids were hispanic and probably illegal. This was roaches against roaches. Who cares?
Report Post »kindling
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 2:46pmThe seven students will get enough money to go to Mc Donalds and the lawyers involved get the rest.
Report Post »just happy
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 12:46pmwhy is the word Hispanic used in this title. Would this have been a story no matter what race or what motive? You may not be racist, but if race has no relevance to weather this was deplorable action, then mentioning it adds to the racist attitudes of those who are racist and looking to divide.
Report Post »Angel_light
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 2:47pmI agree.
“And what of the administrator who ordered the punishment? The school board reportedly transferred her to a vice principal position nearby.” – This is stupid. The correct action to take would be a termination of her job and to be banned from working in the school system ever again.
Report Post »NILAP
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 12:28pmA lot of us would be millionaires if only our parents sued for all those nasty things teachers made us do – really having to stand in the cloak room all those times prevented me from achieving even greater success in life.
Report Post »LemonyFresh
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 12:26pmSpilling water is not disobedience, disrespect or a sin (gasp… he said sin). The punishment was not warranted. It was an accident. Should they clean it? yes.
Report Post »WithOutGodWePerishAsARepublic
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 12:09pmThis what our politicians on both sides of the aisle are creating !!!! I have never seen so much division, tension and hatred arise as I have in the past few years !!!! My daughter and sons are afraid or think it is wrong even to say black or white when reffering to a kid in their school-when they are trying to explain something that occurred during the day…???? As long as we allow this to continue-it will only get worse !!!!
Report Post »eternal_vigilance
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 11:44amYou mean THIS Camden?
Searches related to “camden, nj”
most dangerous city
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Camden police seek missing 15-year-old Allyah Boyce
Pennsauken man killed on Route 130 may have been hit by 3 cars
Pedestrian killed on Route 130 in Pennsauken
Berlin pet cemetery for sale, owner can’t afford taxes
Camden residents protest plan for county-wide police force, city officer layoffs
Westville mulls smoking ban
School Safety and Security topic of prosecutors’ conference at TD Bank Arts Centre
Woman punched in head, robbed near Rutgers-Camden campus
$52,681 seized from Israeli citizen at Philadelphia International Airport
Camden man shot to death as he leaves convenience store
Yea, Good luck wit dat.
Report Post »Yeah_Buddy
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 1:22pmCamden? I don’t think any caucasions live in Camden so whats up with the picture?
Report Post »GoodWill2
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 11:43amAnd if this story is about black and hispanics, why is the picture filled with white kids?
Report Post »GoodWill2
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 11:41amSo, out of $575,000 in TAXPAYERS’ money paid out by the school district, a lawyer (Schorr) gets $270,000?! 47%?! (And from the teacher he took 67%!)
THAT‘S what’s wrong with our system, not racism. It is LAWYERS that have corrupted the courts and Congress.
Report Post »Platonician
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 11:07amIf Obama had a daughter that age, she would look and behave like Theresa Brown.
Report Post »Platonician
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 11:01amThis story among many similar ones shows that the real racism in America comes from the black community, totally embedded in the liberal unions and their corrupt practices.
Report Post »another pucker
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 10:26amDoes anyone else know that on the Blaze you can’t use the word c-r-a-c-k-e-r? What if I go to the store and find some delicious saltine crackers that I want to tell the world about? Or what if I find a really great working nut *******! do I have to keep all this great information to myself? I’m so confused!
xoxoxo
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 10:04amPerhaps some good will come from this. Perhaps the students can use the money to get schooling in English for their family, instead of making America adjust to them. I realize there must be a brain power problem, since every other racial group can learn to speak English, but perhaps, with this money, Uncle Jose can learn a few words of English. I pray the money isn’t all used up on buying tattoos, low rider suspension system for their ‘72 AMC Gremlin, or drugs.
Report Post »THX-1138
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:56amYour tax dollars at work.
Ready yet?
Report Post »another pucker
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:53amHey I’m wondering if that black teacher I had at Overton Elementary in Lubbock Texas in the third grade is still around? Ms. Stovall slapped me on the face because her pet was talking to me in line when we were all supposed to be quite! That was in the late 70′s I would have got squat then and now! Why? Because I’m just a White ******* Honkey!
XOXOXO
Report Post »another pucker
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 10:01amHey Blaze does ******* mean I can’t use the word *******?
Report Post »QuincySmith
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:47am“The school board reportedly transferred her to a vice principal position nearby.” ~~~~ Any question about unions, especially public service unions.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 10:02amA 5 gallon weighs around 40 pounds. Was this a standard sized jug of 5 gallons. How old was the kid. A third grader or someone might drop such a jug easily. The could drop it on their foot & break their foot. they could lift it wrong & damage their discs or get muscle strain.
It would appear the the administrator who probably has a Master in Education of Public Administration has no good sense. you have a Masters degree & that makes you intelligent or wise? Really?
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 10:18amThe students were 5th graders (age 10 or 11 y/o). A 5 gallon jug of water weighs about 41.75 lbs. Average weight of a 10 year old is about 70.4 lbs.
An adult especially union custodial staff can;t replace the jugs on water coolers?
Also, it seems to me that Jose Rivera has not been made whole. He was fired. He lost income.
But the black administrator was protected from herself.
Original article
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20120814/NEWS01/308140005/Camden-school-board-settles-lawsuit-over-punishment-500-000
Saw this on Fox as linked by the Blaze. I googled this. The other news outlets are covering this … not so much.
Questions?
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 10:19amRivera v. City of Camden Board of Education
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
http://nj.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20090710_0001296.DNJ.htm/qx
Report Post »Listen_then_think
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:31amOf course the black kids taunted the others, it is what the black community teaches. Obama teaches race hate, Al sharpton teaches race hate, Jesse Jackson teaches race hate, jerimiah wright teaches race hate, black panthers teach race hate, Maxine waters teaches race hate, andre carson teaches race hate, the black democratic caucus teaches race hateAnd on and on and on.
Report Post »The Jewish Avenger
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:48amDon’t forget Joe Biden
Report Post »SREGN
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:24amSeems to me we all got along pretty well until Obama came around.
Report Post »barber2
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:41amHave also noticed that. Gee, I wonder why ? Oh, I forgot . It‘s because everyone who does’t like Obama’s policies are racists. Not because of that “ white Hispanic” street talk of the Jacksons and the Sharptons and the NBPP.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 10:13amWe got along? Were you around during the Clinton regime when his Attorney General was burning women & children to death.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:23amWhy is this worth that kind of money? It’s ridiculous. Fire the person or persons responsible and move on.
Report Post »Traconian
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 10:34amGonzo, you know you can’t fire teachers, no matter how bad they are as teachers or people. I say make the unions pay the 500K fine. What should have happened? The kids should have gotten an apology, the teacher should have lost her job, and that’s it. Half a million in taxpayer dollars plus legal fees, all wasted.
Report Post »ColoradoMaverick
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:19amI agree with the settlement although the lawyers should only get 5%. These morons running our schools are exposing taxpayers to this sort of litigation and they should all be fired.
Report Post »jesby715
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:07amDid anyone else notice that the lawyer appears to be the only one to do well in the settlement?
Report Post »mikem1969
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:43amMan, I need to go back and count how many times I had to sit in the floor and eat and see how much money I can get (not). One more stupid lawsuit. I can guarantee that if these were white kids, nothing would have happened, mom and dad probably would have scolded them or popped their butts for what they did toget in trouble. These kids still had their trays, so its not like they threw their food on the ground and said eat it. One more thing the PC BS has gotten us.
Report Post »RightThinking1
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:05am“…lawyer will get $220,000.”
Report Post »I am sympathetic with the kids. I question the magnitude of the award, however, and absolutely object to the portion that went to the lawyer. I’m sick of the high costs of tort actions. Almost every dime that is awarded ultimately comes from the rest of us in the form of insurance premiums, taxes, etc.
The Jewish Avenger
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:51amOk, I know that I have heard of 33.3% but 44.4%? How much do they charge to call people? Is the paper pure cotton with gold flake letterhead? Geez…
Report Post »Mapache
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:04amI hope the voters remember this when the school board comes up for re-election. Vote them all out for not firing the responsible parties.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:04amAc cording to Spike Lee, Jesse Jackson & other luminaries among the left in the Black community, blacks cannot be racist because they do not have power.
Well, Theresa Brown was an administrator. That is pretty high in the educational org chart. She had power.
How much longer will the Democrat party keep their big tent of antagonistic groups together. Socialism & class warfare is not going to be able to hold that party together much longer. The Democrat party has less than 20 years before it fragments & is finished.
“Though the courts found that the incident was not racially motivated, the February 2008 incident reportedly sparked racial tensions in the city between the black and Hispanic populations. The administrator who allegedly ordered the punishment, Theresa Brown, was **** BLACK *** and seemingly targeted the Hispanic students with the collective disciplinary action.”
Report Post »kentuckypatriot
Posted on August 15, 2012 at 8:58amsounds like a hate crome to me. where’s the outrage from jackson and sharpton?
Report Post »