Minerva Zanca allegedly “complained that she could ‘never’ have "f---ing nappy hair'" like one teacher, whom she also said “looked like a gorilla in a sweater."
Racist Queens principal singled out ‘every black teacher’ for insults, poor reviews: U.S. Attorney
Principal Minerva Zanca approached her job with extreme racism, a new lawsuit alleges.
Ben Chapman Victoria Bekiempis
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, June 9, 2016, 12:28 PM
The Department of Education let the principal of a Queens high school “discriminate against every black teacher” and punished an administrator who spoke out against the racism, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office alleges in a new bombshell lawsuit Thursday.
Minerva Zanca, who started working as principal of Pan American International High School in August 2012, "purposely targeted" two untenured black teachers by giving them unsatisfactory lesson ratings, according to the lawsuit.
Worse, Zanca did so even before seeing their lessons, the suit charges.
Zanca used slurs to describe these two teachers, John Flanagan and Heather Hightower, saying that Hightower “looked like a gorilla in a sweater” and asked Assistant Principal Anthony Riccardo if he had seen Flanagan's “big lips quivering” in a meeting, the suit says.
Zanca also “complained that she could ‘never’ have 'f---ing nappy hair' like Hightower, and stated that she had difficulty not laughing at Flanagan because he reminded her of a Tropicana commercial where a black man 'with those same lips' danced down a supermarket aisle.”
The principal also discriminated against Lisa-Erika James, a tenured black teacher.
Zanca cut her "highly successful" theater program, claiming there wasn’t money to pay for a student production. There was money to cover overtime related to officials - so the production got canceled.
Riccardo stood up to Zanca, refusing to give Hightower an unsatisfactory rating. In response, Zanca “yelled at Assistant Principal Riccardo, accused him of 'sabotaging her plan,' and called school security to have him removed from the building,” the suit says.
Pan American International High School in Queens, where Zanca no longer serves as principal.
(Google)
She launched two complaints against Riccardo with the DOE - and the department found that her claims didn't merit any charges against him. Zanca gave Riccardo, Flanagan, and Hightower "unsatisfactory" annual performance ratings in June 2013, the suit claims.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office maintains that Superintendent Juan Mendez knew about allegations of discrimination and retaliation but that the department didn't to anything to discipline Zanca.
"Even after the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found reasonable cause to believe that the DOE had discriminated and retaliated against James, Riccardo, and Hightower, Principal Zanca was allowed to remain in charge of Pan American," Bharara's office says.
Hightower, Flanagan, James, and Riccardo left Pan American after the 2012-2013 school year.
Zanca is no longer Pan American's principal, but her employment status in the DOE is unclear.
The DOE did not immediately comment on the allegations.
The city Law Department said: "We are reviewing the complaint."
Racist Queens principal singled out ‘every black teacher’ for insults, poor reviews: U.S. Attorney
Principal Minerva Zanca approached her job with extreme racism, a new lawsuit alleges.
Ben Chapman Victoria Bekiempis
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, June 9, 2016, 12:28 PM
The Department of Education let the principal of a Queens high school “discriminate against every black teacher” and punished an administrator who spoke out against the racism, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office alleges in a new bombshell lawsuit Thursday.
Minerva Zanca, who started working as principal of Pan American International High School in August 2012, "purposely targeted" two untenured black teachers by giving them unsatisfactory lesson ratings, according to the lawsuit.
Worse, Zanca did so even before seeing their lessons, the suit charges.
Zanca used slurs to describe these two teachers, John Flanagan and Heather Hightower, saying that Hightower “looked like a gorilla in a sweater” and asked Assistant Principal Anthony Riccardo if he had seen Flanagan's “big lips quivering” in a meeting, the suit says.
Zanca also “complained that she could ‘never’ have 'f---ing nappy hair' like Hightower, and stated that she had difficulty not laughing at Flanagan because he reminded her of a Tropicana commercial where a black man 'with those same lips' danced down a supermarket aisle.”
The principal also discriminated against Lisa-Erika James, a tenured black teacher.
Zanca cut her "highly successful" theater program, claiming there wasn’t money to pay for a student production. There was money to cover overtime related to officials - so the production got canceled.
Riccardo stood up to Zanca, refusing to give Hightower an unsatisfactory rating. In response, Zanca “yelled at Assistant Principal Riccardo, accused him of 'sabotaging her plan,' and called school security to have him removed from the building,” the suit says.
Pan American International High School in Queens, where Zanca no longer serves as principal.
(Google)
She launched two complaints against Riccardo with the DOE - and the department found that her claims didn't merit any charges against him. Zanca gave Riccardo, Flanagan, and Hightower "unsatisfactory" annual performance ratings in June 2013, the suit claims.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office maintains that Superintendent Juan Mendez knew about allegations of discrimination and retaliation but that the department didn't to anything to discipline Zanca.
"Even after the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found reasonable cause to believe that the DOE had discriminated and retaliated against James, Riccardo, and Hightower, Principal Zanca was allowed to remain in charge of Pan American," Bharara's office says.
Hightower, Flanagan, James, and Riccardo left Pan American after the 2012-2013 school year.
Zanca is no longer Pan American's principal, but her employment status in the DOE is unclear.
The DOE did not immediately comment on the allegations.
The city Law Department said: "We are reviewing the complaint."
