THE September 26, 2018 theP park schoolOSTSCRIPT of baltimore | 2425 old court road, baltimore, md 21208 Volume 76 Issue No.1 PARK SCHOOL SUED FOR SEX DISCRIMINATION On July 30, the Equal Employ- ment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) filed a complaint against Park on behalf of Richard Schneider, former head coach of Girls’ Varsity Softball, on the basis of sex discrim- ination. Hired in 2014, Schneider’s contract was subsequently renewed for two seasons. However, the school, which renews contracts on an annual basis, did not offer Schneider a con- tract for the 2017 season. The EEOC claims that Park “told [Schneider] that it would not renew his contract for the 2017 softball sea- son because of its ‘preference for fe- male leadership.’” The EEOC claims that this decision was made in spite photo by N. Blau ’18 of “his satisfactory job performance, because he is a male.” Upper School Resident Artist Michael Owen, a noted Baltimore muralist, collaborated with students to create a unique mural According to the EEOC, Park was on the Lower School basketball court in 2015. Problems cleaning mold from the concrete prompted the school to paint over issued a Letter of Determination on the design this summer. February 12, 2018 “finding reason- able cause to believe that Defendant violated Title VII and inviting [Park] Mural on LS playground removed to join with the [EEOC] in informal methods of conciliation to endeavor by BRANCH SEIDENMAN ’19 summer. The weather this summer esting,” Tillman said. team, similar to last year’s in-house was particularly suited for mold and Resident artist Owen worked with renovation of the cafeteria. The reno- to eliminate the discriminatory prac- There’s something missing from much of the outside mural was af- a group of students across grades to vation reconfigured the upper level tices and provide appropriate relief.” the Lower School playground this fected. produce the mural in May, 2015. to add an office, and “freshen up the A voluntary conciliation was not year: the mural on the basketball “Pressure washing removed some “The [new] mud color is going to do space,” Breining said. reached by both sides earlier in the court. The school painted it over [mural] paint, but not all, so we chose a good job of not showing dirt, but to In addition, the Boys’ Varsity field year, prompting the EEOC to take during the summer. to repaint the [whole] wall,” Breining me, it changes the color tone of the got a new irrigation system, some- up the current legal action. The case “The playground wall needed to said. “We chose the brownish color playground,” Tillman said. thing that Tompkins and Girls’ Var- was widely reported in local print and be cleaned of mold and mildew and because it is a natural exterior color.” Other changes to the campus over sity Fields had also received over the broadcast media July 30, when the the most effective way to clean con- According to Visual Arts Chair the summer included a renovation to past three years. EEOC announced the suit. crete is by using a pressure washer,” Christine Tillman, the 2015 Diana the Lieberman Building, the stone New sound panels were installed The suit was filed under the Civil Lorraine Breining, Director of Facili- Lee Fox ‘75 Resident Artist Michael cottage that houses the Business and in the Middle School music room Rights Act (1964), which states that ties, said. Owen designed and painted the mural Development offices. to improve acoustics, and the Up- discrimination in employment based According to Breining, concrete, in collaboration with students. According to Breining, the reno- per School digital lab and art history on sex is unlawful. However, Park’s being a porous material, “incubates “I do think that [wall] being a lo- vation was done in-house by As- rooms also got make-overs to better stated employment policy is in accor- mold quite well,” especially when it cation where other artists could come sistant Director of Facilities Dino support students working in those dance with Title VII of the Act, and is in the shade during a wet, humid and do murals with students is inter- Profili and the rest of the Facilities spaces. can be found on the main page of the Park employment webpage. As EEOC Regional Attorney New Bruin bus provides transportation flexibility Debra M. Lawrence stated in the our tutoring students 25 minutes Commission’s press release: “Title by BELLA PALUMBI ’20 later than when we would if I was VII protects both men and women driving,” KIPP faculty leader and Co- from discrimination based on sex. The Bruin bus is back. The Trans- director of College Counseling Liz The law is clear—employers should portation department has purchased a Hirsch said. make employment decisions based brand new 14-seater bus that teachers This year, Hirsch is looking into on the employee’s qualifications, not are able to drive. The school did not once again utilizing the new Bruin gender.” have such a bus last year, and teach- bus for KIPP’s transportation needs. The lawsuit, pending judgment, ers who wanted to put together field The Bruin bus costs $1.25 per mile orders Park to: “institute and carry trips for small groups had to work driven, while the larger activity bus out policies…which prevent gen- with Transportation to schedule a ve- costs $1.50 per mile, charged to the der discrimination;” create written hicle and a driver with a commercial teacher’s department. A driver re- “non-discriminatory objectives” and driver’s license (CDL). quired for the activity bus costs the “conspicuously post” a notice to em- In previous years, there were two user an additional $25 per hour. ployees stating that Park “will not tol- Bruin buses for teachers to drive, as Last year, “Transportation actu- erate gender discrimination;” “make long as they gave advance notice, ally absorbed the cost of the driver,” Schneider whole by providing appro- registered with the Transportation Breining said. This cost deferment priate back pay… [and] compensa- department, and completed safety will not be the case for the coming tion for past and future non-pecuniary training. In July, 2017, however, the year. losses…in an amount to be proven at administration and facilities decided The school’s transportation policy photo by J. Acheson trial;” and to “pay Schneider punitive to retire the old Bruin buses after con- is that teachers give two weeks’ no- damages” for impeding “his feder- Teachers Tess Kysel, Mimi Cukier, and Katherine Socha check out the new bus. cluding that they were “in bad shape tice requesting use of the 20-person ally protected right to be free from cosmetically and mechanically,” Di- in the same year. But with this year’s teacher might want to drive students bus, and five days’ notice for the discrimination based on gender.” rector of Facilities Lorraine Breining purchase, there are now two options off campus. Clubs like KIPP, a tutor- Bruin bus. Representatives of Park’s Ath- said. for small field-trip planners. The ing project at the local charter school, “I am so glad that we have re- letic Department said they could not To replace the retired vehicles, a “Strive-On” 20-seater still requires a need to travel weekly. Last year, with- gained access to the [new] bus,” comment on the lawsuit. “It’s a really single, larger bus was purchased last CDL to drive, a restriction that blocks out the smaller Bruins bus, the club Dean of Students Traci Wright said. unfortunate situation, which we are year. The $56,000 price tag for the access for teachers, but the smaller tutors had to ride along with a regular “It allows for greater spontaneity. If working through, but because it is an 20-seater white and brown-striped Bruins bus allows teachers to act as school bus departure, leaving campus bursting the Park bubble is the goal, ongoing legal issue, I can’t say more “Strive-On” activity bus prohibited driver. at 3:25 p.m. it’s a lot easier when you have readily about it,” Head of School Dan Paradis the school from buying a smaller bus There are many instances where a “We were getting to meet with accessible transportation.” said. EDITORIAL // THE POSTSCRIPT September 26, 2018 2 Production switch highlights our limited mental health education This summer, members of the admin- ing the play in an effort to protect students. ies of the script in April, which were loaned In “Students favor discussion of social istration and Theater Director Peter King However, by preemptively deciding that to students interested in auditioning for the issues over community action” on page four, changed the initial play selection for the students aren’t ready for those conversa- play. This means that actors would be able Addie Fleming ’21 draws attention to the 2019 Spring Production from O Beautiful tions, the school takes away the opportunity to opt out before auditioning, and audience- way we often discuss important issues in our to The Laramie Project. (See article on p. for a meaningful mental health dialogue to goers could refrain from buying tickets if classrooms, but rarely follow up by taking 6, “The Laramie Project replaces O Beauti- begin. the events displayed would be upsetting. concrete action. As Fleming argues, that is a ful.”) This choice reflected the group’s con- Mental health is not a topic we can af- We are not arguing that this content problem in and of itself. But if we continue cerns over the subject matter of O Beautiful, ford to neglect. According to the National should be forced onto anyone—rather, that to shelter ourselves from difficult subjects which includes date rape, abortion, ques- Institute of Mental Health, 20 percent of the opportunity to see these themes and dis- out of fear that our community is not ready tioning the authority of religion, bullying, people aged 13-18 have a mental health con- cussion would be available and beneficial for them, then pretty soon, we won’t even teenage pregnancy, sexual orientation, and dition, and suicide is the third leading cause to the community at large.