MoCo school board ordered to pay $518K to former B-CC High teacher accused of racism

[Anonymous]

Jury took just a few hours to deliberate and award 518k of our tax dollars to the defamed teacher. Complete incompetence by MCPS at so many levels.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/07/23/school-board-pay-bcc-high-racism/

MoCo school board ordered to pay $518K to former B-CC High teacher accused of racism
County jury rules that board, not school principal, defamed educator

Montgomery County Circuit Court jury on Wednesday ordered the county school board to pay former Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School teacher Dan Engler $518,000 in damages after finding the board was ultimately responsible for defaming Engler in a 2023 email accusing him of racism that was sent to the B-CC community.

The jury awarded the damages after a seven-day trial that revolved around the email sent by B-CC Principal Sheldon Mooney in response to a complaint by two Black students that Engler had made racist comments to them in his classroom on Feb. 8, 2023. The email was vetted by numerous Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) administrators, according to court testimony. The school board oversees MCPS.

In August 2023, Engler and his attorney David Wachen filed a defamation lawsuit against Mooney and the school board seeking more than $75,000 in damages, according to the complaint. Engler, who taught at B-CC for 18 years before going on medical leave in February 2023, now teaches at Walt Whitman High in Bethesda.

After several hours of deliberation Wednesday, the jury returned a verdict finding the school board defamed Engler, but Mooney did not. The jury awarded Engler a total of $518,000 in damages and interest.

[Anonymous]

Why is Mooney off the hook?

[Anonymous]

Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is Mooney off the hook?

Apparently he’s made of Teflon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is Mooney off the hook?

Because this is Mcps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is Mooney off the hook?

Because this is Mcps.

No, it was the jury's decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is Mooney off the hook?

Not just Mooney. What about his supervisors who reviewed Mooney’s letter, including Chief of Schools Peter Moran and Associate Superintendents Sean McGee?

This lawsuit reinforces that the BOE has a duty and obligation to intervene and supervise MCPS and hold it accountable. And yet they refuse to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

100%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable. Glad the teacher got a favorable resolution after all that MCPS induced trauma but sad that there is 500k less going into our kids’ educations next year.

Does the MCPS Board have a budget line item to pay out lawsuits for its incompetence or do we just expect class sizes to be bigger next year?

This. The BOE needs to be held accountable as does Taylor and central office.

According to the news article MCPS couldn’t even get its act together enough to issue a comment for the news story.

Here’s my comment “MCPS is sorry we idiots harmed a good teacher and lost our 500k.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is Mooney off the hook?

Because this is Mcps.

He’s screwed up so many time. BCC deserves better. It’s been declining sharply under Mooney.

[Anonymous]

So was the guy racist or not?

[Anonymous]

MCPS principals are not qualified or competent enough to do investigative work. Especially for something as complex and nuanced as claims of racism. MCPS has to start hiring experts and stop relying on principals to learn on the job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is Mooney off the hook?

Not just Mooney. What about his supervisors who reviewed Mooney’s letter, including Chief of Schools Peter Moran and Associate Superintendents Sean McGee?

This lawsuit reinforces that the BOE has a duty and obligation to intervene and supervise MCPS and hold it accountable. And yet they refuse to.

Ultimately, the moco taxpayers lose in this case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So was the guy racist or not?

Even if Engler was racist, due to Mooney fabricating quotes and failing to follow proper protocol and due process, he was bound to get away with it.

Mooney and MCPS are incompetent.