Education

Lawsuit against Roanoke County School Board moves forward

Lawsuit against Roanoke County School Board moves forward

An attorney for the Roanoke County School Board asked a judge Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit claiming that a so-called “woke” assistant principal was demoted for speaking out against school policies that hurt the LGBTQ+ community.
U.S. District Judge Michael Urbanski denied the request to throw out seven of the lawsuit’s 14 counts, while taking under advisement the remaining claims made by Tobie McPhail, the former assistant principal at Glen Cove Elementary School.
“It’s a lot to sort through,” Urbanski said of the 63-page lawsuit against the school board, two of its members and four school administrators.
McPhail claims she was discriminated against, and ultimately forced to resign, on the basis of her perceived sexual orientation in 2023, during a time of public turmoil over the school system’s policies affecting gay students and their supporters.
School officials instructed McPhail not to wear rainbow-themed clothing and jewelry, including a lanyard with the inscription “Love is Love,” the lawsuit alleges.
Her claim that she was demoted in retaliation for exercising her First Amendment right of free expression was described as perhaps the strongest element of McPhail’s lawsuit during a three-hour hearing in Roanoke’s federal court.
“You can’t take adverse action against someone based on their First Amendment rights,” Urbanski said. “That’s clearly established.”
In addition to the school board, the lawsuit names as defendants in their individual capacities two of its members, Brent Hudson and Tim Greenway, Superintendent Ken Nicely, Assistant Superintendent Jessica McClung, Director of Elementary Education Stephanie Hogan and Glen Cove Principal April Brubaker.
Brubaker, with backing from the other defendants, “led a systemic effort to rid (the school) of speech and symbols they viewed as being associated with the LGBTQ+ community, from items of rainbow coloring to universally positive messages like ‘Hate has no home here,” the lawsuit claims.
During the hearing on the county’s motion to dismiss, attorney Stacy Haney maintained that McPhail had failed to allege facts that would amount to any plausible claim for relief.
Among other things, Haney argued that the five-month period between the time that McPhail was ordered to remove her lanyard and her reassignment in April 2023 was too long to establish a connection between the two.
McPhail’s attorney, Daniel Martin, responded that the process to punish her began in early 2023.
Concerns about what was called a “hot mess” at Glen Cove intensified when a Roanoke County resident named Damon Gettier contacted school board members and said he was “worried about the woke assistant principal” at the school.
In May 2023, Gettier appeared before the board to complain about what he called the grooming and abuse of children “by sexual predators disguised as teachers and staff.” Although Gettier did not name McPhail, he referred to the school’s assistant principal, a position that only she held.
“There might be some claim against Mr. Gettier, but he’s not a defendant in this case,” Haney said.
In fact, McPhail has filed a separate defamation lawsuit against Gettier. That case remains pending in Roanoke County Circuit Court, according to online court records.
Her federal lawsuit claims school officials were working with Gettier to remove displays that he described as “criminal offenses” from Glen Cove before his comments to the school board, which were implicitly endorsed by members’ failure to correct him during the packed meeting.
In July 2023, the board adopted a policy that forbids employees from using their positions or classroom displays “to advocate for their personal beliefs about political views, sociopolitical issues, or religion to students,” the lawsuit states.
McPhail says she was falsely told that her demotion to a teaching position was based on her lack of leadership with a program designed to help struggling students, “boundary issues” with staff and for acting in a derogatory manner toward her supervisor.
Facing a loss in salary and emotional distress, McPhail resigned and later took a job with Arlington County Public Schools. Her forced resignation was tantamount to an actual discharge, the lawsuit states.
The pleading seeks a permanent injunction restoring McPhail to her previous position. It also asks for unspecified damages for lost wages and emotional suffering, among other things.
Her claims include discrimination, harassment, creation of a hostile workplace, retaliation, denial of equal protection, tortious interference, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Urbanski said it appeared the defendants would prevail on the seven counts he took under advisement, but he wanted to study the issues before issuing a written opinion. A weeklong trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 21, 2026.
Although she is heterosexual, McPhail is well known for her advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights.
“Ms. McPhail proudly supported the LGBTQ+ community in order to foster a welcoming environment for all students, faculty and staff” at Glen Cove, the lawsuit states, “and as a result she became a target.”
Laurence Hammack
(540) 981-3239
laurence.hammack@roanoke.com
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