SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The first African American principal at Christian Brothers High School (CBHS) is suing over allegations that he was wrongfully terminated and discriminated against based on race.
Attorneys for Chris Orr, the former CBHS principal, filed the civil rights lawsuit in Federal Court on January 23.
Orr served as principal for the private Catholic college prep school for two and a half years before he was suddenly let go in October 2019.
The high school was founded on the Catholic Lasallian principals, which entail commitments to inclusiveness and social justice.
“So, when you talk about the diversity, when you talk about the amount of kids that are at your school, and then pat yourself on the back and say we’re doing a great job, that’s not it. It’s gotta be more than that,” Orr said.
The 22-page lawsuit alleges school leaders unlawfully retaliated, discriminated, and terminated Orr. The suit also alleges that the school made student admissions and financial aid decisions based on race.
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CBHS is denying all allegations of discrimination and retaliation calling them “baseless”, spokesperson Kristen McCarthy said in a statement. The school plans to defend its reputation in court.
“No employment decisions at CBHS are race-based, McCarthy said in a statement. “CBHS is proud of its history of diversity and inclusion and has never made an employment decision, admissions decision or financial aid decision based upon race. CBHS has a clear policy encouraging internal reporting of any perceived problem at the school and our policies mandate that reporters are free from retaliation.”
The high school is ranked in the top 2% of private high schools based on ethnic, economic, and cultural diversity, according to Niche Rankings.
The former principal has seen support from numerous parents and students since his termination. However, other members of the CBHS community are defending the school.
Dr. Ravinder Khaira’s daughters graduated from the school in 2018. He credits their education at CBHS with helping to get them into prestigious universities like University of California Davis and Georgetown University.
“If there was any of those issues that he actually has mentioned, I would not been supportive of my daughter’s going to Christian brother’s,” Khaira said.
He has contributed thousands of dollars toward the high school and will continue to do so, something he wouldn’t do if he felt the allegations in the lawsuit were true, Khaira said.
“We’ve gone in and never had any intimation that this was going actually going on,” Khaira said. “These kinds of things issues are not insidious in nature. They’re something that you know, you can’t hide.”
The lawsuit does not list a specific dollar amount but that could come out later. Orr has said previously that he wants accountability and for things to change at the school.
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