A former Utah high school assistant principal has filed suit against his former employer after being laid off in 2012.
Keith Davis claimed that he was wrongfully terminated after turning girls away from a homecoming dance because of their attire.
Davis worked as a school administrator for 18 years before becoming assistant principal at Stansbury High School in April 2012. That fall, he was one of the staff members working the homecoming dance, Fox13 Now reports.
In an incident that became known as the "homecoming spirit massacre," dozens of girls were turned away from the dance because their dresses were deemed too short.
The school's dress code said skirts should be at or near the knee, but the subjective measure caused a controversy when parents and students complained that the dance was ruined.
Principal Kendall Topham apologised, revised the dress code, and scheduled a second dance, but a leaked staff memo allegedly showed Davis blaming the students.
"What is sadder is that the school and the administration are being made out to be the villains in the drama caused by poor choices made by a few girls," the memo reportedly read.
The Tooele County School District transferred Davis to a special education department, which he considered a demotion, before laying him off with one other staff member in 2013.
Davis' attorney, Lauren Scholnick, said her client was unable to secure other work in the district, and that his professional reputation has been damaged. They are asking for reinstatement, back pay, and damages.
District Superintendent Scott Roofers called the suit's claims "erroneous and unfounded."
