Teacher Accuses Pullman District Of Bias Hispanic Woman Claims School Failed On Affirmative Action Goals

A Hispanic woman who concedes she wasn’t the highest-rated candidate for a teaching job is suing the Pullman School District for discriminating against her and violating its affirmative action policy.

Esther Westfall, 32, filed the lawsuit this week in Whitman County Superior Court after being rejected for the part-time position at Sunnyside Elementary School.

According to the suit, the school district overlooked her qualifications.

“It’s unfortunate that it has come to this,” said Timothy Esser, Westfall’s lawyer. “I think that when all the evidence is presented, it will be clear that my client was by far the most qualified person.”

Pullman Superintendent Doug Nelson declined to comment.

“I can’t comment on something I haven’t even seen,” he said Tuesday. “Anything I would say would be inappropriate.”

A 1995 graduate of Washington State University, Westfall worked for the Pullman School District as a student-teacher for one semester and a substitute teacher for a year. From February to June 1997, Westfall taught kindergarten full time at Sunnyside. Since then, she has worked as a substitute teacher.

The district created two part-time positions in August. Eight people, including Westfall, applied. She and five others were selected for interviews and a teaching demonstration.

Westfall said school officials later told her that her interview scores were too low. She had tied for third place.

The women who came in first and second were hired, Westfall said. But both were recent college graduates who had no full-time experience, according to the suit.

Westfall met with school officials and filed a grievance. It was rejected by the school board during a closed-door session last month.

“I wouldn’t have gone this far if I was treated with dignity,” said Westfall. “I trusted these people.”

Westfall, who moved to Pullman seven years ago, has a fine arts degree and a certificate in elementary education. Teachers in the district gave her good reviews during her practicum, the suit said.

By not hiring Westfall, the suit claims that the school district failed to meet its affirmative action goals.

In October 1996, 16 percent of students enrolled in Pullman schools were minorities, according to the suit. But only 4 percent of administrators and certificated teachers were minorities.

The suit claims the district’s goal was to have two Hispanic teachers on the payroll as permanent employees during the 1997-1998 school year. There was only one Hispanic teacher when Westfall applied for the job, the lawsuit said.

But neither the state’s nor the district’s affirmative action policy has a quota-based system, Nelson said.

Westfall said she has met people who want more teachers of color in the district to serve as role models for their children.

“This has stripped me of my dignity,” she said. “I’ve struggled so hard to be a teacher. I’ve overcome so many obstacles.

“I don’t know if anything will come out of this lawsuit, but I hope it opens their eyes. What they did was wrong.”

Westfall is seeking the part-time teaching job, lost wages and punitive damages.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: THE SUIT Esther Westfall is seeking the part-time teaching job at Pullman, lost wages and punitive damages.