Georgetown school officials tried to get rid of Black principal, suit claims discrimination

Four employees in the Georgetown County school district are accused in a lawsuit of trying to get rid of a high school principal because he is Black.

Larry Odom, principal of Carvers Bay High School, filed a lawsuit against the school district on May 1, claiming he had been treated “unfairly, disrespectfully, and as an inferior person,” because he is Black, despite his education and performance on the job.

The lawsuit claims the school district violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Odom is being represented by attorney Thomas Tisdale in Charleston.

“Mr. Odom has a stellar record of what he’s done for the school system,” Tisdale said. “And he has gotten many awards for his work. And, and this is just a blemish, not on him, but on the school system.”

A spokesperson for the school district could not be reached via email or phone.

The four employees named in the lawsuit are school district Superintendent Keith Price, Human Resources Director Doug Jenkins and Michael Carvis and David Hammel, both in supervisor positions.

The suit claims they had a “joint, planned effort, working together to work toward the demotion and dismissal of the Plaintiff from his position at Carvers Bay High School,” by implementing an improvement plan.

According to the suit, the improvement plan was a pretext for setting up Odom’s dismissal. The Sun News has requested the improvement plan from the U.S. Department of Education.

The suit also claims there was a public dismissal of Black Lives Matter, a national organization. A staff member announced publicly that the organization was “nothing more than a terrorist organization,” according to the suit. It does not say which staff member made the comment.

Larry Odom began as principal at Carvers Bay High School in 2019. The high school has majority Black students who are economically disadvantaged, according to the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. News, which regularly tracks public education ratings and demographics.

More records and court evidence are expected to become available as the suit moves forward.