January 11, 2020

Mallory Herrmann
citydesk@lstribune.net

Dr. Amy Gates has dismissed her lawsuit against the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District and will retire after this school year.

The lawsuit alleged that the district violated the Sunshine Law, Missouri’s open records law, by failing to provide requested documents related to a discrimination report during the hiring process of a public relations executive director.

According to the lawsuit, Gates said that Dr. Dennis Carpenter, then superintendent for the district, was against hiring one of the three applicants under consideration based on race. The petition states that Carpenter told members of the interview team he opposed the hiring of one applicant, an African American female, saying, “The Establishment is not ready for the two faces of this district to be African American.”

Carpenter resigned from his position in July 2019 after months of turmoil related to his push for the district to address diversity issues and engage in equity training.

The lawsuit was filed by Gates on Jan. 30, 2019, in the Circuit Court of Jackson County and was dismissed with prejudice on Dec. 20, 2019.

Gates has been employed by the district for nearly 30 years and has served as the executive director of technology since 2012.

She has submitted her intention to retire from the district, effective June 30, 2020.