The Columbus Municipal School District and its superintendent Dr. Philip Hickman are refuting the claims made against them in an ongoing federal lawsuit.
In August, Leslie Smith, an Illinois educator and Hickman’s uncle, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court North Division of Mississippi claiming he was not given a job with the district despite the school board voting to hire him.
Hickman went before the school board in August 2014 and recommended that Smith be hired for the position of director of schools. The newly created position, Hickman said at the time, would work with the district’s nine principals. It was to earn $70,000 a year. The CMSD school board voted 4-0 to hire Smith.
Less than a week later, however, Hickman released a statement saying Smith had declined the job.
Smith’s lawsuit, filed in Aberdeen’s U.S. District Court accuses the district of lying about Smith’s statement, breaching a contract and gross negligence among other complaints and seeks $280,000 in damages.
This week, CMSD and Hickman filed answer, denying any wrongdoing. The district and superintendent’s response states that although the board voted to hire Smith, he never agreed to terms of employment or signed a contract.
No trial date has been set.
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