At the conclusion of the 2024-25 school year, New Market Middle School teacher Leslie Williamson retired early after a 23-year tenure with Frederick County Public Schools, the final nine of which came at New Market. She did so citing rampant antisemitism and the school district’s disinterest in combating it.
On July 8, Williamson officially filed a federal lawsuit against the Board of Education of Frederick County. The complaint states that Williamson was left with no choice but to retire “because it was no longer safe or emotionally tenable for [her] to continue to work in a hostile work environment at NMMS where [the] Defendant knowingly permitted pervasive and unmitigated antisemitism.”
Williamson is seeking back pay, front pay, benefits, reimbursement for lost earning opportunities, compensatory damages, punitive damages and more at trial.
Gregg C. Greenberg of Zipin, Amster & Greenberg, LLC, the law firm representing Williamson, said that the process could take years to resolve, as the federal court system is extremely busy as it deals with many different cases.
Williamson’s lawsuit has been served, which means that the school system now has 21 days to file an answer to the complaint that would either assert its responses to the allegations, or file a motion to dismiss. If the case continues, it would move to the discovery stage, which Greenberg said is what “takes the bulk of the time and energy.”
That could take around half a year or more. Greenberg said that, from there, the school district would likely file a motion for summary judgment, which the judge will take around half a year to rule on.
After that would come a jury trial. Greenberg said that the entire process could take around three years, stating that “three years is realistic and probably on the faster side for a jury trial.”
Williamson has been through quite a bit at this point, and there is even more on the horizon.
“After jumping through these hoops, we’re now at the starting line,” Greenberg said.
There was an initial attempt for resolution before the matter went to court, but that was unsuccessful, Greenberg said.
Last month, Williamson detailed her experience to Washington Jewish Week. She spoke about receiving a paper with a swastika drawn on it from a student, and her failed attempts to have that student removed from her class.
Other parents told Washington Jewish Week about meetings held between them and other parents of FCPS students in which they spoke about the troubling trend of increasing hate speech and discrimination at New Market and beyond.
Williamson said at the time her frustration boiled over when the school administration and FCPS leadership appeared apathetic at the idea of addressing these problems.
“I had meetings with the principal, I had meetings with the director of middle schools, I had meetings with the representative for the superintendent’s office. The director of middle schools told me that he couldn’t understand my concerns, because he’s not Jewish. The representative for the superintendent told me that I needed to learn forgiveness,” Williamson said.
In June, FCPS Communications Manager Brandon Oland said in an email to Washington Jewish Week that Williamson’s claims and the eventual legal complaints based on them that she filed with the government had not been pursued by any federal agency.
“We can share the former employee referenced in the inquiry filed complaints with both the U.S. Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission related to allegations of antisemitism and discrimination within FCPS. Both agencies reviewed the matters independently and closed them without findings against FCPS,” he said.
He added that FCPS is “committed to providing students, staff and the community with a safe and supportive environment that fosters mutual respect, equity, inclusion and acceptance of the rich diversity that makes up our community.”
The July 8 complaint reveals new details, as well. According to the document filed last week, when New Market Middle School’s then-principal Trese “TC” Suter declined to remove the student who drew the swastika from Williamson’s classroom, she instead proposed for that class period moving forward, another teacher come and teach Williamson’s class.
Williamson rejected this proposal on the grounds that it punished her by “requiring her to teach an unfamiliar subject in another classroom.”
The complaint also states that in a meeting pertaining to the situation, FCPS Human Resources Director Julia Nguyen “coldly admonished” Williamson “that she was not a victim.”
Additionally, the federal complaint claims that FCPS officials “knew or reasonably should have known” of at least 13 additional antisemitic incidents at New Market Middle School between December 2024 and June 2025.
The complaint alleges that a desk at the school had a Ku Klux Klan figure drawn on it. It says that a “large” swastika was etched into a part of a boy’s bathroom. In addition, the complaint states that a paper with a swastika and the words “Heil Hitler” written on it was found.
In May 2025, the complaint states, when Williamson told Nguyen that the antisemitism within the school had created a hostile work environment that merited her being placed on paid administrative leave for the remainder of the 2024-25 school year, she was told that if she wanted time off, she could use sick or personal leave, resign or retire.
So that’s what she did.
Now, Williamson is about to start a second phase of the situation that ended her career early. And as Greenberg explained, this one won’t be easy either.
“She is about to put herself through something for the next couple of years that is not objectively pleasant for anyone. She is on the precipice of a lot of work, discomfort and stress. This harmed her so much [but] it’s something that she feels that she needs to do. It’s a long, hard road,” he said.
aguckes@midatlanticmedia.com