HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — After a court victory, a former teacher who sued her school district is hoping for a victory at the polls.

A jury awarded former Cotton Indian Elementary teacher Sheri Mimbs six-figure monetary damages after she says she was fired for not giving students grades they didn’t earn.

“It was like a sigh of relief. A weight off my shoulders,” Mimbs said about the six-year battle against the Henry County School System, and a jury reaching a verdict in her favor.

“That’s a victory for me. That’s a victory for these teachers,” she said.

It all had to do with Mimbs’ refusal to give students who didn’t perform a set grade determined by the school.

“I gave them the grades they earned.”

She says back in 2017 an assistant principal wrote a note to her telling her not to give students grades less than 60, even if they didn’t turn in any work.

“I went to the assistant principal and she was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You need to change those grades. Kids can’t have less than a 60,’” Mimbs described.

Mimbs says after she complained, her contract wasn’t renewed. She sued and won.

“I knew I was being retaliated against,” she said.

The jury ordered the district to pay her six figures in monetary damages for retaliation. It has to pay her attorney’s fees and most importantly it had to reverse her non-renewal. She says that non-renewal was keeping her from getting teaching jobs.

Now after the court victory, Mimbs hopes to get a victory at the polls.

“I’m planning to run for school board,” she said.

As for the jury’s judgment, Mimbs says she is happy she stood on principle and was rewarded for it.

“Nobody can make me believe just giving out grades is helping any student,” she said.

Jones asked the Henry County School System for a comment. A spokesperson sent a copy of the judgment and said he had no other comment.

Mimbs is running for the School Board District 5 seat, along with Gewel Richardson and current board member Makenzie McDaniel.