A former principal of Herod Elementary School has taken legal action against Houston Independent School District (HISD) Superintendent Mike Miles and various defendants, which include the school district’s board of managers and a prominent Houston law firm.
Jessica Berry, who is representing herself, alleges a series of serious violations in her lawsuit filed in late March.
The accusations include defamation, falsification of records, and breaches of several laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Texas Labor Code, and the Texas Whistleblower Act, as well as U.S. Department of Education Whistleblower protections.
In addition, the suit claims that the Houston-based law firm, Thompson & Hunter LLP, aided and abetted the alleged wrongdoing by the school district.
Interestingly, the provided contact details for this law firm appear to match those of Thompson & Horton LLP, another Houston-based firm.
Berry is seeking a significant monetary award of $3 million, alongside immediate cessation of the purported illegal actions against her.
Moreover, she is calling for sanctions against all defendants and the termination of both Mike Miles and the Houston ISD board of managers.
The board was appointed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in June 2023, following a series of failing accountability ratings faced by a high school within the district.
Despite requests for comments, there has been no immediate response from Thompson & Horton, Houston ISD, or Berry concerning the lawsuit.
The lawsuit offers a detailed account of Berry’s experiences within Houston ISD, beginning with her entry into the district in 2018 and her eventual appointment as principal of Herod Elementary in 2022.
Berry asserts that her position became precarious after new changes to the principal performance evaluation system implemented by Mike Miles post-TEA takeover.
In the timeline presented, Berry claims to have received an employee corrective action plan in April 2024, followed by a resignation agreement in May 2024, which would have granted her three months’ salary.
However, she contends that her resignation was unwarranted based on her performance evaluations and those of Herod Elementary.
Berry chose not to sign the resignation agreement and subsequently filed a whistleblower complaint with the TEA in June 2024.
According to her lawsuit, TEA acknowledged the complaint’s merit, although specifics about the complaint have not been disclosed.
The lawsuit also reveals that had Berry not accepted the resignation agreement, she would have faced termination on May 8, 2024, alongside the offer of three months’ salary.
From July to October 2024, Berry states that she engaged in several correspondences with the law firm representing HISD regarding her resignation and her allegations against the district.
In the final correspondence cited in the lawsuit, Berry indicated that the district remained willing to provide her with three months’ salary in exchange for a full release from her claims.
The law firm stated, according to court filings, ‘To be very clear: my client [Houston ISD] is still willing to pay the amount of three months’ salary in exchange for a full release from Dr. Berry. We have no other response to your previous demand.’
The lawsuit further outlines that the defendants acted with malice and indifference, intentionally or recklessly causing severe emotional distress to Berry.
Additionally, it claims that the defendants made false and defamatory statements about her and falsified public records.
Berry also accuses them of creating intolerable working conditions that amounted to constructive dismissal, violating her rights concerning leave, and retaliating against her for exercising those rights.
The lawsuit emphasizes that her rights were infringed upon through discrimination and retaliation linked to her whistleblower activities.
As of the publication date, none of the defendants had filed a response to the allegations presented in the lawsuit.
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