Springdale Schools and Principal Danny Brackett have been accused of harassment by former history teacher Kent Bowman. As a result of this alleged mistreatment, Mr. Bowman is now suing Springdale Public Schools with the help of Charles Kester of Kester Law Firm.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of similar cases, full of harassment and discrimination,” said Mr. Kester.

According to the Morning News, Mr. Bowman claims that the teachers within the school ridiculed him because of the color of his skin. Due to this he suffered from depression along with anxiety. Because of his condition Mr. Bowman’s doctor suggested that he resign from the stressful workplace, advice Mr. Bowman took after working at the school for four years.

Mr. Bowman had not returned a phone call at the time of press.

Although the school district’s lawyer Charles Harwell refused to comment, Mr. Kester said that the school did nothing to help with Mr. Bowman’s health issues.

According to the lawsuit, after several reports of harassment and no results, Mr. Bowman went to Hartzell Jones, the deputy superintendent of human resources. This led to little results, so Mr. Bowman filed suit against Superintendent Jim Rollins, Mr. Jones and Dr. Brackett.

According to Mr. Kester, they refused to talk or to discuss anything with him, much less provide any information about harassment reports filed.

“I feel that this made it worse because if they had talked to us, then everything could have been worked out with much less drama,” said Mr. Kester.

Again, the school district’s attorney, Mr Harwell, refused to comment. District officials referred all inquiries to their attorney.

After the lawsuit was filed, the school district was served with the lawsuit. After served, the school district has 20 days to answer the summons before the issues are joined and they are forced to talk.

Based on the information given by Mr. Kester, Mr. Bowman has requested back pay (from the last pay check he would have received until the order putting him back to work), reinstatement as a teacher at Har-Ber High, and compensatory damages (the school to pay for everything he had to pay for as a result of his mistreatment).

The school district refused comment, but Mr. Kester said action could have been avoided if the school district had just talked to them from the beginning. Mr. Bowman remains unemployed while this lawsuit is pending, and he hopes to regain his position as teacher.