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Former Morningside Elementary School principal Dawn Stansbury, right, and Sioux City school superintendent Paul Gausman laugh with then-Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who was visiting Morningside Elementary in February 2016. Stansbury later sued the district and Gausman for sex and age discrimination, and the Iowa Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a lower court's dismissal of the lawsuit.

Iowa Court of Appeals Judge Sharon Greer questions Jordan Hutchinson, attorney for Dawn Stansbury, while hearing arguments Wednesday concerning a sex discrimination lawsuit brought by former Sioux City schools administrator Dawn Stansbury against the Sioux City Community School District. The court heard the case in the Woodbury County Courthouse as part of its annual practice of hearing cases outside Des Moines so more people can see the court at work and meet the judges.

DES MOINES — The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit in which a former Sioux City elementary school principal had sued the Sioux City Community School District and top administrators for sex discrimination.

The court ruled Wednesday that a district court judge correctly found there was insufficient evidence to show the district administrators' decision to transfer Dawn Stansbury from her position as Morningside Elementary School principal to an assistant principal's position at East Middle School was motivated by sex discrimination.

Stansbury had asked the appeals court to overturn the judge's decision and return the case to Woodbury County District Court for trial.

"Even taking the record in the light most favorable to Stansbury, we agree with the district court that she provided only indirect evidence that the district took adverse employment action against her on the basis of sex," the three-judge panel that heard Stansbury's appeal in May said in the 20-page ruling.

Stansbury resigned in August 2018 after she said she was given an ultimatum to be demoted to a middle school principal position or be fired. She said she was told by director of elementary education Brian Burnight, her direct supervisor, that as long as Paul Gausman was superintendent, she would never receive a promotion, cost of living adjustments or salary increases. She said a hiring committee later was encouraged to hire male principals because they would be better able to oversee student discipline.

Stansbury sued the district, Gausman, Burnight and associate superintendent Kim Buryanek in February 2019 for sex and age discrimination, breach of contract and other claims. All claims except the sex discrimination allegation were later dismissed. Gausman and Buryanek are no longer with the district.

Burnight placed Stansbury on a Plan of Awareness in March 2017 because Morningside Elementary School's reading scores were not high enough, Stansbury said in the lawsuit, though male principals at two other schools that had lower scores were not disciplined. She said two teachers on the panel to interview her replacement told her Burnight had said a man could do the job better. During depositions, one of those teachers denied saying that to Stansbury, and the other teacher said she couldn't remember telling her.

The district presented a performance evaluation that rated her performance as "needs improvement" on culture and climate and it wished to transfer her to East Middle so she could improve and also because of concerns of favoritism voiced by some of her elementary staff members.

In May 2021, District Judge Duane Hoffmeyer (who has since retired and taken senior judge status) granted the school district summary judgment and dismissed the lawsuit, ruling he could not find sufficient evidence to support her claim.

In its ruling, the appeals court cited evidence showing numerous complaints from several employees about Stansbury's performance, leading to a conclusion that her transfer was due to her job performance rather than her sex.

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Hytrek has been at the Journal since 1998, covering courts for much of that time. He is a Nebraska native and University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate.

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A three-judge panel considered the case of Dawn Stansbury, a former Sioux City elementary school principal who's appealing the dismissal of her sex discrimination lawsuit against the district, superintendent Paul Gausman and two other school administrators.

SIOUX CITY -- A former Sioux City elementary school principal has appealed a judge's ruling that dismissed a sex discrimination lawsuit she ha…

SIOUX CITY — A former Sioux City elementary school principal who has said she resigned "under duress" has sued the school district, claiming s…

Dr. Paul Gausman, superintendent of the Sioux City Community School District talks about his experiences in Sioux City before he moves to Linc…

The dispute began on June 9, according to legal documents, when "lightning or some other source" took out electricity to two mobile homes in the park, which subsequently tripped the disconnect on a transformer and ultimately caused 12 mobile homes to lose power. 

Former Morningside Elementary School principal Dawn Stansbury, right, and Sioux City school superintendent Paul Gausman laugh with then-Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who was visiting Morningside Elementary in February 2016. Stansbury later sued the district and Gausman for sex and age discrimination, and the Iowa Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a lower court's dismissal of the lawsuit.

Iowa Court of Appeals Judge Sharon Greer questions Jordan Hutchinson, attorney for Dawn Stansbury, while hearing arguments Wednesday concerning a sex discrimination lawsuit brought by former Sioux City schools administrator Dawn Stansbury against the Sioux City Community School District. The court heard the case in the Woodbury County Courthouse as part of its annual practice of hearing cases outside Des Moines so more people can see the court at work and meet the judges.

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