A former Blacksburg Middle School library worker is suing the Montgomery County School Board, accusing it of condoning religious harassment.

Judith Scott, now 56 and living in Mecklenburg County, said in a lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Roanoke that an unnamed supervisor held Christian prayer meetings in which she turned out the lights and laid hands on people, "anointed" the library and left religious notes around Scott's workplace. When Scott complained, her 14 years of employment came to an abrupt end, the lawsuit said.

School board Chairman Wendell Jones said he did not know the details of the lawsuit and could not comment on it.

The lawsuit said that after Scott, who was then a media aid assistant, complained about the religious behavior, the supervisor said she felt a "righteous anger" toward Scott, the lawsuit said.

Scott filed a grievance, the lawsuit said, and met with an assistant superintendent and others. She was asked if she wanted to be transferred and replied that she just wanted to do her job in a nonhostile environment.

Soon after this, Scott learned that her contract would not be renewed.

The lawsuit said the incidents it cites are examples of harassment and retaliation Scott endured. It asks for damages, but as is common in federal discrimination lawsuits does not list a dollar figure.

The lawsuit does not indicate if Scott's situation ever came to the notice of the school board. But her attorney, Terry Grimes of Roanoke, said Monday that the board is responsible for ensuring that school employment is free from discrimination.

"Whether the individual board members know about it is neither here nor there," Grimes said.