Former Booker T. Washington STEM Academy Assistant Principal files suit against Unit 4 in federal court

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - The former assistant principal of Booker T. Washington STEM Academy has filed suit against Unit 4 in federal court, claiming she was discriminated and retaliated against based on her sexual orientation.

Rebecca Ramey filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Urbana. She said she was retaliated against after her wife, a former 1st grade teacher at Booker T. Washington, criticized Superintendent Shelia Boozer during a board meeting over the district’s response to a shooting outside the elementary school in September 2023.

Ramey told the News Gazette in an interview that she was informed she was being transferred from Booker T. Washington to Kenwood Elementary, with no guarantee of employment in Unit 4 past the spring semester.

Instead, Ramey finished the 2023-2024 school year on medical leave and accepted an assistant principal position this summer at Eastlawn Elementary in Rantoul.

Stacey Moore, Unit 4 spokeswoman, said the district will not comment on pending litigation.

In the lawsuit, Ramey is seeking an undisclosed amount of money and a mandatory injunction reinstating her as the assistant principal of Booker T. Washington.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are the Champaign school district and its board. It also personally names Boozer, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Ken Kleber and since-departed Deputy Superintendent Laura Taylor.

The News Gazette also reports that in the lawsuit, Ramey acknowledges that weeks after the September board meeting, the assistant principal “dispensed a dose of a student’s prescribed medication to the student without an updated Student Medical Authorization form from the student’s guardian,” in violation of Unit 4 policy.

However, the lawsuit says, “Rebecca had the verbal approval from the parent to dispense the medication to the child, and her actions were taken solely in (an) attempt to ensure that the child continued to receive their prescribed medication in a timely manner.”

Booker T. Washington Principal Jaime Roundtree recommended a written reprimand for Ramey, given that “there had been no injuries and no willful or intentional violation of policy," the News Gazette reports.

That recommendation was rejected by Unit 4 administration. Instead, Ramey was given a 5-day unpaid suspension. Ramey believes this decision was retaliatory.