Former Colleyville Heritage principal files lawsuit against district, board member
Former Colleyville Heritage High School principal James Whitfield is suing the Grapevine-Colleyville school district and board member Tammy Nakamura.
The suit, filed Friday afternoon in Tarrant County, alleges Nakamura defamed Whitfield, the first Black principal at Colleyville Heritage, during a school board panel discussion sponsored by the Republican National Committee. He alleges that her comments violated a settlement agreement. Whitfield is seeking $250,000.
The school district said in an emailed statement to the Star-Telegram that it is aware of Whitfield’s lawsuit, but declined to comment further.
Whitfield and the school district agreed to part ways in November 2021 after Whitfield was accused of promoting critical race theory, and he later recounted “racial attacks” against him on Facebook. He is on paid administrative leave until Aug. 15. As part of the settlement, Whitfield and the district agreed to resolve their disputes and not make additional public statements
Whitfield accused Nakamura of making public statements about him that damaged his reputation as he searches for employment.
During a June 26 school board panel in Coppell, Nakamura talked about Whitfield and said he was a “total activist.” A video clip of Nakamura’s statements was posted in a Facebook group.
Nakamura said she reviewed Whitfield’s “whole file” and that the letter he sent denouncing discrimination and emphasizing that education is the key to overcoming it was “the straw that broke the camel’s back ... that got him fired.”
She also stated that Whitfield was pushing a “movement through” and that there was “absolute proof” of what Whitfield was trying to do. She also referred to teachers like Whitfield as “poison.”
The letter that Nakamura referred to was written shortly after George Floyd was murdered, according to the lawsuit.
Whitfield alleged that as a school board member, Nakamura was bound by the agreement.
The agreement also included a non-disparagement, non-retaliation clause that said that the school board agrees to not make any disparaging remarks about Whitfield, his family members and/or representatives or agents.