A bus driver was fired from a Cumberland County charter school for reporting a road rage altercation that targeted her because she is Black, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this month.
Genera Fisher is suing the Millville Public Charter School after she was dismissed from her bus-driving role last year. She was employed by the school for about a year, according to the lawsuit filed in Cumberland County Superior Court.
Fisher said school officials violated anti-discrimination laws by firing her after she called police to report a man shouting an ethnic slur at her while in traffic.
School officials did not immediately return a request by NJ Advance Media for comment on Tuesday.
Fisher is represented in the case by attorney Erica Askin of Costello & Mains, a firm dedicated to civil rights and workers’ discrimination matters, according to its website. A message left for Askin Tuesday was returned by attorney Kevin Costello, the firms’ founder.
Costello directed questions about the purported incident to statements made in the complaint.
“We look forward to having an opportunity to discover the positions of each side and put the matter in front of a jury, where we hope justice will be done,” Costello told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday.
Fisher was terminated last March following the encounter, the lawsuit states.
Fisher was behind a car driven by the father of one of the school’s students at the time, the lawsuit states. She honked her horn at the vehicle, angering the man. He approached the bus, yelling a racial epithet at her before banging on the side of the bus, which upset the students onboard.
Before leaving, he threatened to have Fisher fired, according to the lawsuit.
Following the encounter, Fisher called Millville police, who escorted the bus to the school, the lawsuit states. Her two sons met her there but were sent home by officers.
Millville police did not immediately return a request for comment about their response to the confrontation.
Fisher’s legal team said the man had also threatened other Black bus drivers. One, the lawsuit states, was removed from their bus route after both the man and his wife threatened the driver.
Fisher was later notified she was fired because it was alleged her son threatened the man with guns, a claim that was denied in the lawsuit. The description of the alleged confrontation between the man and her sons changed over time, with a staff member later telling Fisher her sons appeared at the school armed with guns in an attempt to engage the man.
Fisher disputed the claim, telling school officials both of her children did not own guns or visited the school in search of the man. However, school officials upheld her removal, according to the lawsuit.
Opened in 2011, the charter school was opened after a call by then Gov. Chris Christie for New Jersey to offer school choices to parents of youngsters neglected by public institutions. It opened as a no-cost option for parents seeking an alternative school for their children.
The school opened with seating available to 108 students. Its enrollment has grown to about 285 students in grades K-8, according to the latest data available from the New Jersey Department of Education.
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Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.
