Former Cleveland Heights Principal Brings Lawsuit To District

Former Cleveland Heights principal Johnetta Wiley is bringing a lawsuit against the School District for being wrongly demoted following an incident where she made students and faculty incorrectly believe there was a gunman on school grounds.

Wiley announced over the school’s loudspeaker in April 2014 that a gunman was on the property as part of the filming of a safety training video, according to court documents obtained by Cleveland.com. A number of students and teachers did not hear this disclaimer and believed her announcement was real, causing them to panic and call the police.

According to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Cleveland Municipal Court, she claimed the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District wrongly put her in a new position as the district's Director of Special Programming and Compliance and was placed in a basement, rather than an office, referred to as the “room of shame” by some. The room was two miles away from the central office with no administrative staff.

She also claims in the lawsuit that she was systematically demoted because she expressed interest in growth within the School District. Wiley had mentioned to the interim superintendent in 2013 that she planned to apply to be the permanent superintendent. She claims her intent as well as discrimination against her being black and a woman were factors in her removal.

Her new position was removed and she now works as a high school chemistry teacher, making nearly $37,000 less than her previous salary according to the lawsuit. She is seeking damages exceeding $1.5 million.