‘Slam dunk’: Former Christina School superintendent sues district for millions after being placed on administrative leave

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Christina School Superintendent Dan Shelton filed a multi-million dollar federal lawsuit against the Christina School District’s board and individual board members on Monday.

Shelton was placed on indefinite administrative leave on a 4-3 vote in July after a long and contentious meeting. Board President Don Patton, Vice President Alethea Smith-Tucker, YF Lou and Naveed Baqir voted in favor of placing him on leave while Doug Manley, Monica Moriak and Amy Trauth voted against. The district hired an interim superintendent in August.

The civil lawsuit argues Shelton was fired and accuses the board and individual members Patton, Smith-Tucker, Lou and Baqir of violating his due process rights, damaging his reputation and breaching his contract. He’s asking for more than $2.7 million in compensation and for the individually named board members to pay punitive damages.

Shelton’s attorney Tom Neuberger said that based on board members’ actions, the case is a “slam dunk.”

He said the total his client could get from a jury could exceed $10 million once the jury factors in punitive damages. Neuberger said Shelton is unable to find work because of the actions of the board and is suffering mentally.

“He’s depressed. His world has ended by these unfounded charges of that he’s a racist, that he’s immoral, that he’s a liar, that he’s inept, that he’s incompetent,” he said. “I mean, he’s truly suffering emotionally.”

Patton and Smith-Tucker declined to comment on the lawsuit. Requests for comment to Baqir and Lou did not receive an immediate response.

Shelton was hired in 2020 on a five-year contract. His contract was extended in December 2023 for a year. His current salary is $210,043. His contract extension, which included a salary raise, was also rescinded at the July meeting.

Shelton said in his legal filing the district didn’t have cause to fire him and he wasn’t given an explanation for why he was being let go. His lawsuit argues the four members of the board who voted to remove him were driven by personal animus, which is evidenced by legal advice to the board given by its former longtime attorney James McMackin.

In a July 17 email from McMackin to board members obtained by WHYY News, the board’s attorney warned that attempting to fire Shelton “does nothing but support the witch hunt narrative.”

“Given the public record of animus, any members supporting termination only can overcome partiality issues — and personal liability — if the superintendent did something egregious — objectively — such that any reasonable person would terminate, despite partiality,” the email said. “No jury would conclude this is egregious when you are sued.”

The effort to remove Shelton started months before the July board meeting. The four board members led by Patton voted in March to suspend the superintendent without pay for three days at the beginning of April. According to a memo dated April 17 obtained by WHYY News, Shelton was disciplined for not including a motion on an agenda, undesirable HR processes and poor relationships with board members.

The board first tried to rescind Shelton’s contract extension through June 30, 2026 during the March meeting, but the Delaware Attorney General’s Office later determined that vote violated the state’s open meeting law.

The General Assembly ordered the Delaware Department of Justice to monitor the board because of frequent Freedom of Information Act violations.

The board has been dysfunctional for more than a year, roiled by controversy. The Patton bloc had been trying to remove Shelton and the minority group had been fighting it. Among the other controversies has been the absence of Baqir, who has been living in Pakistan since January and attending meetings virtually. The private school he co-founded has been under scrutiny concerning invoices submitted to the school district. It was also the subject of a grand jury probe, according to documents obtained by WHYY News.

Manley led an unsuccessful attempt to censure and remove Patton as president at the board’s April 16 meeting. The next day, Patton appeared on the television show Community Crossfire with Norman Oliver, and said the effort was masterminded by Shelton.

“I have no questions in my mind that it was racially motivated and that it was orchestrated by the superintendent,” Patton said. “There’s absolutely no question in my mind.”

Shelton said in his legal filing that Patton’s statement was false and Patton called him a “racist,” making him unemployable and hurting his reputation.

McMackin and the district severed ties in August after the attorney said he could no longer defend the board’s actions.

“This Board tends to shift from weaponizing its counsel, to assailing its counsel, as part of the Game of Thrones it plays,” McMackin stated in an email to Patton. “Delaware lawyers do not participate in this game — not when kids are involved. The search for replacement counsel will inevitably cross state lines if this Board seeks a ‘yes-man.’”

Manley and Moriak said they’re not surprised by the lawsuit. Manley said Shelton has a good case.

“I was there for all of the, all of the events that are outlined in here,” Manley said. “And I still don’t have a satisfactory answer to why this board voted to suspend the superintendent, why it voted to give him a vote of no confidence, why it voted to bring in a replacement superintendent.”

Moriak said the majority faction of the board refused to allow Shelton due process before placing him on leave.

“I’ve maintained from the beginning that as far as I’m concerned, everything we did was illegal and against due process,” she said. “And honestly, I think it’s unethical.”

The Christina School District is planning to ask taxpayers to approve a referendum early next year. Manley said he hopes the lawsuit doesn’t impact that vote, but every negative thing that comes out about the district or the board makes it harder to ask for additional funding.