Tisha Lee, a longtime Denver Public Schools employee, may sue the district for discrimination after being passed over for a promotion for potentially racially-motivated reasons, a federal judge ruled on Monday.

“By alleging that she was rejected despite her qualifications and that the position was filled by a White applicant, Lee has met her burden of plausibly alleging a claim for race discrimination,” concluded U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martínez in a March 29 order.

Lee’s attorneys, Darold Killmer and Reid Allison, said that racial discrimination is present in public institutions including schools, and their client will try to “eradicate” it from Emily Griffith Technical College, where she is the vice president of student services.

“Ms. Lee has continued to provide exceptional professional service in her job at DPS. Even though she suffered the indignity of overt racial discrimination, she has continued to work hard and perform her job as a leader at EGTC,” said Killmer.  

In 2019, Lee applied for the position of the school’s executive director, which required at least seven years of experience in higher education. Lee, according to court filings, had served as vice president at the school for 14 years and had a total of 27 years of experience in higher education.

After two rounds of interviews, Lee, who is Black, was scheduled for a final interview after an alleged consensus that she was one of the top two candidates. But upon the interview’s cancellation, one of Lee’s colleagues who was on the panel of interviewers told Lee that “racist stereotypes and statements were levied against and about Ms. Lee,” the lawsuit claimed. “First, one of the panelists questioned Ms. Lee’s fundraising ability. Ms. Lee had, in fact, helped raise over $150,000 for EGTC’s Foundation. The panelist doubted this figure and Ms. Lee’s abilities, because of her race, stereotypically believing that Ms. Lee could not be connected to people affluent enough to donate substantial sums.”

Lee’s complaint to the federal court added that the same interview panelist reportedly “stated that Ms. Lee must be held to a higher standard because she is a Black woman.”

The district ultimately hired Stephanie Donner, who worked for former Gov. John Hickenlooper and whose online resume describes her corporate legal experience and being an “experienced revenue generator.” Donner, who is white, left the school after just over a year in the job. Donner allegedly fired the person who tipped off Lee about the panel’s deliberations, Barbara Lindsay, in retaliation.

Lee subsequently sued Denver Public Schools for racial discrimination in violation of federal law, for violations under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and retaliation.

Denver Public Schools did not dispute Lee’s overall narrative, but asked the court to dismiss her lawsuit because “she fails to allege facts showing that the decision not to hire her was based on her race or any other impermissible factor.” The district also argued there was no evidence that David Suppes, the chief operating officer for the school system who hired Donner, knew about the panel’s discriminatory comments.

“We are disappointed that DPS has refused to acknowledge the indignity inflicted upon Ms. Lee, and that it sees fit to continue to spend taxpayer money to defend the discriminatory decisions made in this matter,” Killmer said on Wednesday. “We are hopeful that someone within the institution shows the leadership necessary to acknowledge the harm done and to take steps to provide an appropriate remedy.”

Of Lee’s seven claims against the district, Martínez dismissed only one, otherwise finding a failure to promote her because of her race, if proven, would amount to a violation of her rights.

“Given Donner’s comparative lack of relevant qualifications, combined with the panelists’ racially motivated skepticism of Lee as a candidate, the facts as alleged by Lee in her Complaint support an inference that race played a factor in the hiring decision,” the judge wrote.

Martínez cast aside the district’s contention that Lee’s retaliation accusation was based on Donner’s actions against Lindsay, and not her. The judge concluded that terminating a colleague may affect whether someone chooses to file a discrimination claim.

The school district and its attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is Lee v. Denver Public Schools et al.