A former Gary Community School Corp. official filed a federal lawsuit against the district Aug. 19, alleging separate counts of racial and sexual discrimination, retaliation and breach of contract.
The school board hired Dee-Etta Wright as chief operating officer on Aug. 1, 2024, shortly after appointing Yvonne Stokes as Gary’s first superintendent after the three-year state takeover ended.
A press release described Wright as a Northwest Indiana native with 35 years of education experience including a stint as School City of East Chicago superintendent, and an East Chicago principal and science teacher. She came to Gary from Merrillville, where she was assistant principal at Pierce Middle School.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern Indiana in Hammond, stated Wright received a “right to sue” issuance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on one charge of discrimination on May 21, 2026.
The lawsuit stated that Wright, in her job capacity, wrote up a white employee for performance deficiencies and sought corrective action. She alleged the district did not investigate or reprimand the white employee comparable to the investigation and discipline it later imposed on Wright.
The lawsuit stated Wright also opposed workplace conduct she believed discriminated against Black employees while white workers received more favorable treatment.
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In December 2024 and January 2025, Wright opposed proposed and ongoing treatment of an older Black employee, believing the treatment was based on race and age. She also opposed the treatment of another Black worker.
The lawsuit stated Wright raised concerns about more favorable treatment of white employees by the district’s human relations director.
Wright was placed on administrative leave June 16, 2025. On Aug. 5, 2025, Wright filed an EEOC complaint alleging discrimination and retaliation.
The district responded with an Aug. 26, 2025, investigative report and findings along with a proposed mutual settlement and release agreement. Wright submitted a rebuttal but said the district did not respond before the school board voted 4-1 on Nov. 21, 2025, to cancel Wright’s contract.
The lawsuit seeks damages for emotional distress and embarrassment; damage to her professional reputation; loss of income; attorney’s fees and other compensatory damages to be determined at trial.
She is seeking back pay, lost benefits, front pay and other similar relief. She’s also asking for reinstatement or appropriate front pay and compensatory damages.
Wright asked for a jury trial and is represented by Daniel Zamudio of Griffith.
Chelsea Whittington, spokeswoman for the school district, said it could not comment on the lawsuit and pointed to a school board policy stating it doesn’t discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sex, gender status, sexual orientation, age, religion and other legally protected categories.
This is the second federal lawsuit filed against the Gary schools in recent weeks alleging discrimination.
A Crown Point woman is suing the Gary Community School Corporation for racial discrimination and discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act because she believes the district subjected her to “race-based disparate treatment.”
Deanna Geertsema, in a federal lawsuit filed July 16 in Hammond, is asking the court to declare that GCSC violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the ADA of 1990 when it moved her to the fourth grade from the second grade class she was teaching.
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Geertsema, who is white, alleges in the lawsuit that she was discriminated against because of her race.
Carole Carolson is a freelance reporter for Post-Tribune; freelance reporter Michelle L. Quinn contributed.