MPS principal abused student for having gay parents, threatened to kill first grader, federal lawsuit alleges

A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed accusing a Milwaukee Public Schools principal of abusing a first grader for having gay parents.

The lawsuit was filed March 22 in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. According to a complaint from the attorney of the student's parents, assistant principal Kasongo Kalumbula told the student his parents would "burn in hell," and at one point, threatened to kill the student if he told anyone about the abuse.

The student is referred to as G.L. in the suit. Kalumbula was G.L.'s assistant principal at Milwaukee French Immersion School at the time of the allegations.

The attorney for G.L.'s parents, Elisabeth Lambert, writes in the complaint that G.L. was targeted by Kalumbula with "harsh and damaging discipline," including locking him in a dark room for hours. Kalumbula is accused of not protecting G.L. from other students who bullied G.L. as well.

According to the complaint, G.L.'s parents reported Kalumbula to the school's administration and school board, but "Kalumbula retaliated by escalating his abuse." G.L. is in psychiatric treatment for trauma and anxiety, the complaint states. Kalumbula did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

However, Kalumbula was promoted to acting principal of French Immersion despite the allegations. He left the school in 2021 and is currently principal of Mary McLeod Bethune Academy , also a Milwaukee Public School.

The complaint also accuses MPS of failing to train or supervise district employees to prevent discriminatory and abusive conduct. "Instead, MPS Administration routinely conducts sham investigations that function to conceal the truth and protect employees from facing meaningful consequences for their conduct," the complaint states.

"Incidents of abusive and discriminatory conduct by administrators are not uncommon in Milwaukee Public Schools," Lambert wrote, adding that MPS often promotes or gives raises to administrators who received complaints.

According to the complaint, superintendent Keith Posley was informed of Kalumbula's alleged homophobic conduct but did not take any action or initiate an investigation.

MPS spokesperson Nicole Armendariz said Tuesday that per its policy, the district couldn't comment on the circumstances of individual students and their families. “The district takes its responsibility for students seriously and acts when issues are identified,” she added.

Kalumbula allegedly told G.L. that "most people in America do not agree with your parents' lifestyle." According to the complaint, Kalumbula's statements "traumatized" G.L. so much that he suffered a panic attack in 2021 while on vacation at Disney World. G.L. saw a gay couple holding hands, which triggered the panic attack. According to the complaint, he began shaking, sobbing violently, and asking his parents if the gay couple would "burn in hell," like Kalumbula said.

One of G.L.'s parents met with Kalumbula and the school's principal and challenged Kalumbula's version of events that blamed G.L. for being shoved by another student, according to the complaint. Kalumbula became outraged during the meeting and stated, “No queer is going to speak to me like this!” the complaint states.

When Kalumbula left French Immersion, other parents and teachers blamed G.L.'s parents on social media. "The hostility was so severe that (G.L.'s parents) disenrolled their children from the school before the end of the school year and moved them to a different school district," the complaint states.

G.L.’s parents are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

Kalumbula has been accused by others for taking actions and using language considered discriminatory toward LGBTQ+ people. He has been an administrator with MPS since at least 2015 and was assistant principal at French Immersion from September 2018 to October 2021. Multiple district employees, students and parents have accused Kalumbula of discriminatory behavior in the past.

At least two LGBTQ+ staff members left French Immersion because of Kalumbula's conduct, according to the complaint. Three sets of LGBTQ+ parents unenrolled their children from the school, the complaint states.

Kalumbula allegedly refused the Milwaukee school board's directive to schools in August 2020 to provide instruction to students on matters of diversity and inclusion, including sexual orientation and gender identity. Kalumbula told several teachers to contact parents and encourage them to have their children opt out of class activities that addressed sexual orientation, the complaint states.

WISN-TV featured Kalumbula as its "Person of the Week" in May 2022 at Bethune Academy. He discussed the importance of having flags from different countries around the world to make students feel more welcome.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS principal abused student for having gay parents, threatened to kill first grader, federal lawsuit alleges