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A former Montgomery County Public Schools teacher is speaking out after he says false allegations of racist comments upended his life. A jury awarded the teacher more than $500,000 in a settlement. He spoke with FOX 5 on Tuesday, saying he feels vindicated. The racism claim stirred up controversy at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School two years ago. But now, Dan Engler, who taught school for nearly two decades and was a crew team coach. He says the settlement has brought him a sense of justice. As first reported by _The Banner,_ this all started when two Black 10th-grade students accused Engler of racism in the 2022 – 2023 school year after they had asked him to sit with their friends. Engler says he told the girls that they needed to stay in their assigned seats and to follow the seating chart so he wouldn’t get anybody mixed up. He says the girls interrupted his response by saying he couldn’t tell them apart because they’re Black. The girls told school administrators, accusing him of racism, and the school response was swift. The crew team fired him and the school placed him on administrative leave. Engler filed a defamation lawsuit against Montgomery County Public Schools and during the trial, he says the former B-CC principal admitted that he made up a racist quote attributed to Engler in an email sent to B-CC parents. The case went to trial and a jury awarded Engler $518,000 in damages. When asked if he felt vindicated, Engler said, "It's a process." "But I think so. I'm grateful to not be tagged with some pretty ugly sentiments. Now, what has this done to your life? Well, it certainly impacted my career. I'm not coaching the kids that I coached. I lost my team, and I've gone into tremendous financial debt, even with the settlement that we've got from the trial, and still about $150,000 in the hole," he went on to say. And when asked what he would say to Montgomery County Public Schools regarding his treatment, he encouraged trust in teachers. "I just ask that they listen to teachers, that they talk through with respect things that happen in order to try and come to an understanding before sending community emails or before rushing to judgment," Engler said. FOX 5 reached out to MCPS and we’re waiting for a response. Meanwhile, Engler hopes to teach in an MCPS classroom again. He is still employed by MCPS on administrative leave and he hopes to return to the classroom and to coach the crew team because he says he loves teaching.

ALT: a man in a suit and tie stands next to another man in a yellow shirt and tie

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