Ann Zaniewski

Detroit Free Press Education Writer

The board of the Detroit school district that fired a teacher after she used a broom to break up a fight between students has agreed to settle the woman's lawsuit for $390,000.

Tiffani Eaton-Davis sued the Education Achievement Authority in federal court a year ago, alleging that the district violated her civil rights and failed to warn her about the "violent conditions" at Pershing High School, where she taught.

A cell phone video of the April 30, 2014, fight between two boys in Eaton-Davis' classroom quickly went viral. It showed the students throwing punches and falling into desks and onto the floor before Eaton-Davis struck one with a broom.

Eaton-Davis said she tried to call security on a walkie-talkie when the fight broke out, but got no response. She said she used the broom as a last resort.

Eaton-Davis was fired. The district later said she could come back to work at any EAA school, but she declined.

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At a meeting on June 7, EAA board members voted to enter into a proposed settlement agreement with Eaton-Davis. Joyce Hayes Giles, board chair, said it was for $390,000.

Hayes Giles said during the meeting that attorneys for both sides reached the proposed settlement over Memorial Day weekend.

"One of the reasons we needed to do this quickly was ... in the discussions between our attorneys and the plaintiff's attorney, there was a requirement to get this settled within a week," she said.

Robert Guttersohn, spokesman for the EAA, said in a statement: "The board has approved the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan to enter into a settlement agreement but to date the settlement agreement has not been finalized."

Jim Rasor, attorney for Eaton-Davis, declined to comment.

Eaton-Davis' eight-count lawsuit included allegations that she was discriminated against for being a woman and for being black. She said male teachers and a white female teacher physically intervened to stop fights but were never disciplined.

Eaton-Davis had been on the job for three months when the fight broke out. She said administrators didn't warn her about the "unusually high amount of fighting and violence" at Pershing. She also said the EAA allowed dangerous students in the school against district guidelines.

Eaton-Davis said officials told her she could resign or be terminated. She refused to sign termination papers and lost her job. She later received letters saying her job was being reinstated.

In court filings, attorneys for the EAA said the district was not involved in any unlawful employment practices. They said many of Eaton-Davis' allegations were untrue.

Michelle Crockett, an attorney for the EAA, noted during last week's board meeting that the settlement would be paid by the district's insurance provider and not come out of its operational budget.

The EAA is a controversial reform school district that Gov. Rick Snyder opened in 2012 in an effort to turn around the bottom 5% of Michigan schools. All 15 of its schools used to be part of Detroit Public Schools.

State lawmakers recently passed a package of bills to reform DPS, and it includes the dissolution of the EAA.

Contact Ann Zaniewski: 313-222-6594 or azaniewski@freepress.com