A New Jersey school district is paying a former teacher $325,000 after she claimed she was forced to digitally edit a pro-Trump “Make America Great Again” shirt a student wore in a yearbook photo.
The Wall Township school board agreed to pay the sum to former teacher Susan Parsons on Tuesday, NJ Advance Media reported.
The school district made no admission of wrongdoing.
The insurance carrier for the district will be responsible for paying the money.
Parsons served as the high school’s yearbook adviser when she said a secretary acting on the principal’s behalf ordered her in 2017 to remove “Trump Make America Great Again” from the student’s shirt and make it look like he was just wearing a plain blue shirt.
The teacher, who said she voted for former President Donald Trump in 2016, said the administration made her a scapegoat and that she received death threats. She received a paid suspension after the incident.
According to the agreement, Parsons will receive $204,000, and the rest will cover her attorney’s fees.
The school district also reissued the yearbook with the original, unedited photo at its own expense.
The high school initially came under fire in 2017 for photoshopping several students’ Trump shirts and quotes out of the yearbook.
