Eight former Baltimore City Public Schools instructors are suing the system and a contracted nonprofit for months’ worth of payments they have yet to receive.

In a lawsuit filed Friday, the art teachers allege they haven’t been paid for work they did in April, May and June, putting them behind on rent and car payments, and ruining their credit scores. They were employed through Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Center, which acted as a staffing firm for city schools, the lawsuit said.

The Baltimore-based nonprofit provides mentorship and arts education, after-school programs and summer camps to school systems in the Baltimore region. It was founded in 2004 by Dermell Brunson and has a three-year, $7.5 million contract with city schools, according to the lawsuit. The organization also lists school systems in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, Prince George’s and Dorchester counties among its partners.

Desperate to be paid for their work, instructors voiced their frustrations to news media this summer. At the time, Brunson blamed school systems for the pay issues, accusing officials of not paying Leaders of Tomorrow for instructors’ services.

In a statement, city schools spokesperson André Riley disputed that claim.

“We have been clear that any failure on the part of LTYC to pay their employees is solely the responsibility of LTYC,” Riley wrote. “City Schools has paid its obligations to LTYC, more than $600,000 to date, authorized in our purchase order.”

A spokesperson for Leaders of Tomorrow said Brunson was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

In an interview with The Banner this summer, Jermaine Melvin, one of the plaintiffs, said he loved his placement at Mary E. Rodman Elementary School. He was making $32 an hour for teaching and $15 an hour for nonteaching duties, like once-a-month team meetings on Saturdays. There was also the $50 staff received for gas money.

The pay issues started last fall, when his November pay came a day late. The delays continued into the summer, resulting in thirds of total payments received then eventually none at all.

His last payment came in August, when he received the remainder of his April pay. He said he hasn’t been paid for May or June.

Melvin said he fell behind on car payments and rent because of it. Family members have chipped in, but Melvin said he couldn’t afford to give his 3-year-old son the birthday he wanted.

Other instructors saw the same declines, according to the lawsuit.

Cedric Benning Jr., another plaintiff, taught media arts and computer science at Booker T. Washington Middle School last school year. Like Melvin, he’s also owed May and June payments, along with the overtime pay.

“You’re counting on that money,” he said in a summer interview.

Benning didn’t want to leave Leaders of Tomorrow because of the kids. But bills were piling up. He was eight weeks behind on everything, he said, resorting to using his credit card for bills that allowed it.

Several instructors said they questioned Brunson about the late payments at a February meeting. It turned hostile.

Camrie Hilton started off as a substitute teacher when she joined Leaders of Tomorrow back in 2016. She eventually worked her way up to a leadership role in 2023. It came with perks, like being invited to events inside the CFG Arena suites hosted by Brunson, she said.

The nonprofit employed close to 100 instructors at one point, she said.

Her paychecks were delayed and stopped altogether around the same time as her that of her colleagues. She said she lost 200 points on her credit score, resorted to hiding her car in her garage so it wouldn’t be repossessed and received two eviction notices.

Howard Hoffman, an attorney at Hoffman Employment Law LLC, representing the eight instructors, said in an interview Tuesday that the lack of payments and pay delays violates the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Other employees at other companies may have quit after the first or second missed paycheck,” Hoffman’s firm wrote in a news release. “But these eight individuals could not bear to abandon their students before the end of the school year, and made the selfless decision to continue to teach even as the mountain of unpaid wages continued to grow.”

Because the instructors were only paid once a month, Hoffman said, late paychecks put them in a tight spot. Monthly pay is more common in high-paying fields like accounting and medicine, he said, than for teachers, who are less likely to have savings to cover the gap.

Although Brunson was in charge of payments, Hoffman said, Baltimore City Public Schools should also be held accountable because that’s where the labor was done. He’s calling on them to pay the teachers and deal with Leaders of Tomorrow separately.

“Baltimore City Public Schools should step forward because this entire arrangement was done for the benefit of Baltimore City Public Schools,” he said. “It was done to avoid the hiring of permanent employees.”

City schools maintains that the responsibility lies with Leaders of Tomorrow, Riley said.

“As a member of the community, City Schools expects its vendors to treat their employees fairly, including compensating them for their contributions.”

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.