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The Honorable E. Richard Webber, United States District Judge for the

Eastern District of Missouri.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

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No. 03-1643

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Lanita Cherry, *

*

Appellant, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the Eastern

* District of Missouri.

Ritenour School District, *

*

Appellee. *

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Submitted: November 17, 2003

Filed: March 17, 2004

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Before LOKEN, Chief Judge, McMILLIAN, BEAM, Circuit Judges.

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BEAM, Circuit Judge.

Lanita Cherry appeals from the district court's1

 grant of summary judgment in

favor of Ritenour School District on Cherry's claims of race discrimination and

retaliation under Title VII. The district court held that Cherry failed to establish a

prima facie case of discrimination and, furthermore, that Cherry did not prove that the

proffered reason for her contract nonrenewal was a pretext for intentional race

discrimination. We affirm the decision of the district court.
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I. BACKGROUND

We recite the facts in the light most favorable to Cherry and draw all justifiable

inferences in her favor. Putman v. Unity Health Sys., 348 F.3d 732, 733 (8th Cir.

2003). 

The School District employed Cherry, an African American, as a counselor

during the 1999-2000 school year and most of the 2000-2001 school year. During the

2000-2001 school year, Assistant Principal McKinley and Principal Wildhaber

counseled Cherry on several occasions concerning various aspects of her job

performance. These counseling sessions began in October 2000 when Assistant

Principal McKinley counseled Cherry about completing students' special education

referrals. Following that meeting, Principal Wildhaber shared concerns with Cherry

including Cherry's practice of keeping her door closed, her unwillingness to assist

during after-school hours, Cherry's failure to use her computer for counselor

functions, her sub-par performance in relation to what Principal Wildhaber had

previously experienced with other counselors, and complaints from other staff

members about Cherry's performance. 

On December 4, 2000, Cherry received a Formative Data Form, which cited

Cherry's lack of organization regarding the special education program and concerns

about her lack of availability. Then on December 5, 2000, Cherry received a

Professional Improvement Plan, which directed her to better organize and coordinate

special education services. Principal Wildhaber personally met with Cherry to

discuss the concerns raised in these documents. 

Principal Wildhaber counseled Cherry again on March 8, 2001, providing

Cherry another Formative Data Form and Professional Improvement Plan. This

Formative Data Form cited Cherry's lack of coordination and failure to schedule

certain meetings, failure to utilize existing computer programs, and failure to work
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with administration as a team player. The March Professional Improvement Plan was

identified as "job threatening," focusing on Cherry's failure to maintain positive

interpersonal relationships with school personnel. On March 13, 2001, Principal

Wildhaber gave Cherry her performance evaluation, which marked Cherry as "needs

improvement" in the area of "organizes and coordinates Special Education services,"

and as "does not meet expectations" in the area of "demonstrates positive

interpersonal relationships with district personnel to accomplish the district's vision,

mission, and goals." This evaluation recommended that Cherry's employment not be

renewed for the next school year. On March 26, 2001, the School District notified

Cherry that the Board of Education voted not to re-employ her for the 2001-2002

school year. 

Cherry responded to many of the suggestions and concerns raised throughout

the school year by creating flow charts as requested, and by attempting to set up a

parent support group. During the 2000-2001 school year, Cherry also contacted

Gilbert Balderama, the union representative, about the various counseling sessions

and feedback Cherry had received from Assistant Principal McKinley and Principal

Wildhaber. Balderama met with Principal Wildhaber and Cherry to review

Wildhaber's expectations and concerns. Balderama testified that it seemed as if the

administration's expectations of Cherry changed each time Cherry did what the

administration asked. Balderama also provided Cherry with the appropriate

paperwork to file a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after

Cherry indicated that the administration was discriminating against her.

As evidence of Wildhaber's animosity towards her, Cherry provided a letter

from a parent. That letter described an incident when Principal Wildhaber rudely

interrupted a meeting between the parent and Cherry, demanded that Cherry monitor

recess, and later interrupted a second time, and harshly commented about Cherry's

inability to assist. In substance, the parent wrote that she was disappointed with the

level of professionalism Principal Wildhaber demonstrated that day. Additionally,
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Cherry stated in her affidavit that because she is black and both McKinley and

Wildhaber are white, she was criticized more harshly and treated differently. As

further proof of her demonstrated abilities, Cherry pointed to a March 15, 2001, letter

written by a school psychologist, which stated that Cherry was a dedicated counselor

who worked very hard to complete her responsibilities. 

II. DISCUSSION

We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Trammel

v. Simmons First Bank of Searcy, 345 F.3d 611, 613 (8th Cir. 2003). "We will

uphold the judgment if the evidence, 'viewed in the light most favorable to the

nonmoving party, demonstrates no genuine issue of material fact exists and the

moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.'" Id. (quoting Philip v. Ford

Motor Co., 328 F.3d 1020, 1023 (8th Cir. 2003)). 

As the district court did in this case, we will apply the McDonnell Douglas

burden-shifting approach to Cherry's claim. The McDonnell Douglas approach was

developed to assess claims that are based on collateral evidence and brought under

section 703(a)(1) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e2(a)(1). Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 141-42 (2000).

 

Under the McDonnell Douglas approach, the plaintiff must establish a factual

presumption of intentional discrimination. Id. at 142. In Cherry's case, that required

evidence (either direct or circumstantial) that: (1) she was a member of a protected

group, (2) she was meeting the legitimate expectations of her employer, (3) she

suffered an adverse employment action, and (4) there are facts that permit an

inference of discrimination. Taylor v. Southwestern Bell Tel. Co., 251 F.3d 735, 740

(8th Cir. 2001). If Cherry satisfies this burden, the School District must articulate a

legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for its employment action. Reeves, 530 U.S. at

142. The burden on the School District is one of production, not persuasion. Id. If
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the School District articulates such a reason, the "presumption of intentional

discrimination disappears, but [Cherry] can still prove disparate treatment by, for

instance, offering [direct or circumstantial] evidence demonstrating that [the School

District's] explanation is pretextual." Raytheon Co. v. Hernandez, 124 S. Ct. 513, 518

n.3 (2003). "The ultimate burden of persuading the trier of fact that the defendant

intentionally discriminated against the plaintiff remains at all times with the plaintiff."

Texas Dep't of Cmty. Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 253 (1981). 

Both parties proceed under the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting

framework. In evaluating Cherry's claim under the McDonnell Douglas approach, the

district court held that Cherry (1) was a member of a protected group, (2) suffered an

adverse employment action, and (3) sufficiently raised an inference of discrimination

to satisfy the fourth element of her discrimination claim. But, the district court

determinated that Cherry failed to demonstrate that she was meeting the School

District's legitimate expectations during the 2000-2001 school year, thus failing to

meet her burden of establishing a "prima facie case." Although the district court did

not assume in the alternative that Cherry had made a sufficient showing under the

McDonnell Douglas structure, it did discuss the School District's articulation of a

nondiscriminatory reason for Cherry's nonrenewal. After reviewing the record in the

light most favorable to Cherry and drawing all reasonable inferences in her favor, we

agree with this latter approach. Thus, we assume for purposes of this appeal that

Cherry carried her burden under the requirements of McDonnell Douglas.

After presuming that Cherry established a McDonnell Douglas case, the district

court properly recognized that the School District offered a legitimate,

nondiscriminatory reason for Cherry's nonrenewal–she did not improve in the specific

areas in which she was counseled. As previously outlined, Principal Wildhaber

discussed several specific areas of improvement with Cherry beginning in October

2000, including, among other things, Cherry's practice of keeping her door closed, her

unwillingness to assist after school, and her failure to use her computer for counselor
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functions. This performance counseling continued through March 2001 with written

evaluations citing specific areas of needed improvement, many of which were

repeated each session. 

Having articulated a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for Cherry's

nonrenewal, the inquiry now before us is whether there was sufficient evidence, either

direct or circumstantial, from which a jury could conclude that the School District

made its employment decision based on Cherry's race despite the School District's

proffered explanation. "[I]t is possible for strong evidence of a prima facie case to

. . . present a factual issue on pretext." Kiel v. Select Artificials, Inc., 169 F.3d 1131,

1135 (8th Cir. 1999) (en banc). "In many cases the employer's proffered reason is

that the employee was not performing the job satisfactorily, which is simply the

negative of one of the elements of the prima facie case." Erickson v. Farmland

Indus., Inc., 271 F.3d 718, 726 (8th Cir. 2001). If the employee has produced

evidence that she is performing satisfactorily, there may be sufficient evidentiary

conflict to create a triable issue of fact. Such a showing, however, does not

necessarily create a genuine issue of material fact because the presumptive case

requires only a minimal showing, while a showing of pretext requires more

substantial evidence. Id. at 726-27. At any rate, Cherry's evidence supporting her

prima facie case is not so strong as to allow a reasonable factfinder to conclude the

School District's articulated reason was a pretext for intentional discrimination. 

As here, "'[p]robably the most commonly employed method of demonstrating

that an employer's explanation is pretextual is to show that similarly situated persons

of a different race or sex received more favorable treatment.'" Id. (quoting 1 Lex K.

Larson, Employment Discrimination § 8.04 (2d ed. 2001)). "The test to determine

whether employees are 'similarly situated' to warrant a comparison to a plaintiff is a

'rigorous' one." EEOC v. Kohler Co., 335 F.3d 766, 775 (8th Cir. 2003) (quoting

Harvey v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 38 F.3d 968, 972 (8th Cir. 1994)). "Specifically, the

individuals used for comparison must have dealt with the same supervisor, have been
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subject to the same standards, and engaged in the same conduct without any

mitigating or distinguishing circumstances." Id. at 776. 

Cherry has failed to identify any specific staff members who were similarly

situated yet were treated more favorably. While she generally asserts that other

individuals had particular similarities in certain instances, she does not meet the

rigorous standard of proving how these individuals were sufficiently analogous to her

situation. For example, Cherry identifies a certain Caucasian teacher by name, and

claims that other Caucasian teachers kept their doors closed without rebuke and were

not given two Professional Development Plans with additional expectations. But, she

does not establish how these individuals were otherwise comparable . Cherry had the

burden of demonstrating by a preponderance of the evidence that there were

individuals similarly situated in all relevant aspects. Id. And, unsubstantiated

allegations are insufficient. 

Cherry offers no evidence that she did, in fact, assist during after school hours,

utilize the computer program available to her, and make herself more accessible. In

an affidavit, Cherry alleges that she created flow charts as suggested and attempted,

without any help from Principal Wildhaber, to set up a parent support group as

requested. However, standing alone these assertions are insufficient to prove pretext.

Finally, Cherry's asseverations that African American parents, students, and

two former secretaries had declared that Principal Wildhaber discriminated against

them or their children are not on point and are otherwise wholly insufficient. In

addition, these statements are inadmissible hearsay and cannot be used to avoid

summary judgment. Fed. R. Evid. 801(c); Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e). 

In sum, there are no facts in this record that support the conclusion that the

School District's stated reason for not renewing Cherry's contract was a pretext for
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intentional race discrimination. Accordingly, the School District is entitled to

summary judgment under the McDonnell Douglas paradigm. 

III. CONCLUSION

For the reasons stated above, we affirm the district court's grant of summary

judgment in favor of the School District. 

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