BEVERLY HILLS—Carter Paysinger, principal of Beverly Hills High School, has planned to resign from his position as principal on June 30 and run for a spot on the Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education. The school district is seeking to hire a search firm to find a new principal for the high school.

In July, Paysinger, the first black principal of BHHS, filed a lawsuit alleging the district of discriminating against him because of his race.

Paysinger released the following statement when acknowledging the lawsuit he filed against the district last year and how it has affected his final decision of retiring as the principal of Beverly Hills High School.

“At the time I filed the lawsuit against the District last July, my working conditions were appalling. The retaliation and discrimination created an untenable working environment. But I chose to endure the abuse because of my loyalty to our students and to this community. My goal from the start has been to address the problems in this school district and to effect positive change. Since filing the lawsuit, however, my working conditions have worsened.”

He continued, “The Board’s motivation for its latest announcement to hire a search firm to find a new principal is completely transparent. As I said in my complaint, the Board threatened that if I filed a lawsuit, I would lose my job. The day I filed the lawsuit, Board President Goldberg publicly stated “I really don’t think, given these accusations that he’s made, that he has the ability to be an effective leader at the high school.” The fact is, the District’s problems are at the Board level and cannot be addressed by a high school principal. Consequently, I plan to retire as the principal of Beverly Hills High School, effective June 30, 2015, at which time, and at the urging of my family and friends, I will formally announce my candidacy for a seat on the Beverly Hills Board of Education. With the continued support of the community, if elected to the Board, I will be in the best position to effect the changes that we desperately need.”

Carter Paysinger attended Beverly Hills High School and graduated in 1974. He began his career at Beverly Hills High School as a football coach before converting to principle in 2010.

The new principal of the high school is expected to be selected by July 2015.