MoCo school board ordered to pay $518K to former B-CC High teacher accused of racism

County jury rules that board, not school principal, defamed educator

Article in Bethesda Today by Ashlyn Campbell. To read the entire article go here.

A Montgomery County Circuit Court jury on Wednesday ordered the county school board to pay former Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School teacher Dan Engler $518,000 in damages after finding the board was ultimately responsible for defaming Engler in a 2023 email accusing him of racism that was sent to the B-CC community.   

The jury awarded the damages after a seven-day trial that revolved around the email sent by B-CC Principal Sheldon Mooney in response to a complaint by two Black students that Engler had made racist comments to them in his classroom on Feb. 8, 2023. The email was vetted by numerous Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) administrators, according to court testimony. The school board oversees MCPS. 

In August 2023, Engler and his attorney David Wachen filed a defamation lawsuit against Mooney and the school board seeking more than $75,000 in damages, according to the complaint. Engler, who taught at B-CC for 18 years before going on medical leave in February 2023, now teaches at Walt Whitman High in Bethesda.    

After several hours of deliberation Wednesday, the jury returned a verdict finding the school board defamed Engler, but Mooney did not. The jury awarded Engler a total of $518,000 in damages and interest.