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A former teacher is getting a large payout after she claimed the school district she worked in punished her over a Black Lives Matter flag, USA Today reports.
A public records request shows that the Duval School Board has agreed to pay $240,000 to Amy Donofrio, a teacher who used to work at Riverside High School (then Lee High) in Jacksonville. Another $60,000 is going to her attorneys, records say.
Back in March, school administrators reportedly took issue with the flag Donofrio hanged over her doorway. When they asked her to take down the flag, she refused and was removed from the classroom, reporters said. Donofrio also claims she was temporarily reassigned to warehouse operations during an investigation by Duval Schools.
The incident caught the attention of national news outlets, and the teacher even launched a lawsuit against the Duval School Board. The Southern Poverty Law Center represented Donofrio in the case, claiming the school board "retaliated" against the teacher and violated her rights to free speech.
The school district voted this month to reach a settlement with Donofrio, saying that letting the legal battle go on could cost millions of dollars.
Despite the legal victory, the Florida woman's teaching contract was not renewed with the school district.
"As part of the agreement, Donofrio cannot apply for reemployment within Duval Schools," reporters wrote. "According to the document, the school board had not concluded its disciplinary investigation into Donofrio. Now that the case has been settled, the investigation will not be concluded."
Donofrio, who's been teaching for over a decade, said she was "devastated" over the terms. She was well-known for her work with the EVAC Movement, a group that works primarily with at-risk students.
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