A federal jury in Fort Worth has ordered Trinity Valley School to pay its former human resources director just over $10 million after finding the private school retaliated against her and defamed her in the wake of a teacher sex abuse scandal. The jury determined that Trinity Valley School retaliated against and defamed Carrie Skains after she spoke out about sex discrimination at the school, awarding damages for mental health harm, reputational harm, unpaid wages and benefits, and exemplary damages.
Skains, a former human resources director at Trinity Valley School, filed her federal employment lawsuit on December 30, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleging Title VII sex discrimination and retaliation, according to GovInfo. The case was later transferred to the Fort Worth Division. As reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Skains first filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which determined she had the right to sue over discrimination.
What the Jury Found
According to the Star-Telegram's reporting, the jury found that statements made about Skains in a school board letter were false and defamatory, and that Trinity Valley School published those statements with intent to harm her. The letter had stated that administrators were concerned sharing the allegation against former piano teacher Trent Muse would be detrimental to him if the exposure had been accidental. The jury's finding directly contradicts the conclusions of a third-party investigation the school commissioned, which found that Skains and other administrators had largely kept the initial allegation against Muse to themselves.
Skains also alleged that Trinity Valley's chief financial officer, Adam Wojtelwicz, berated her and other female employees, and that he spoke so severely to her on at least one occasion that she was reduced to tears. The Star-Telegram's account notes Skains accused Wojtelwicz of increasing her workload and that of other female employees without extra compensation, while male employees received more money when their workloads were increased. The verdict can still be appealed by either party.
The Muse Scandal at the Center of the Case
The case grew out of the fallout over Trent Muse, a former Trinity Valley piano teacher who was arrested and charged with inappropriate conduct with children. Muse pleaded guilty in 2025 to five counts of indecency with a child by exposure, stemming from conduct during private piano lessons in the 2022–2023 academic year, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison — the statutory maximum, prosecutors noted, according to CBS News.
Although Trinity Valley terminated Muse in April 2023 and notified Child Protective Services, parents alleged in court filings that school administrators falsely attributed his departure to “personal reasons” and initially encouraged families to continue private lessons with him off campus, per KERA News. The outlet reported that a third-party investigation conducted by risk management firm T&M USA concluded school administrators, including Skains and then-Head of School Blair Lowry, had kept initial complaints internal and allowed inaccurate information about Muse's firing to circulate.
A Wider Wave of Litigation
Skains' verdict lands amid a broader legal crisis that has enveloped the private school since 2024. In March 2025, eight families representing nine students filed a separate civil lawsuit in Tarrant County District Court against Trinity Valley School and its board of trustees, alleging negligence, fraud, and intentional infliction of emotional distress over the alleged sexual abuse of at least 16 girls by Muse, seeking more than $1 million in damages, the Fort Worth Report noted.
Blair Lowry, who led the school from 2020 to 2024 as its first female Head of School in institution history, also filed her own lawsuit against Trinity Valley alleging breach of contract and disparagement connected to her termination during the internal fallout over the Muse investigation. Following Lowry's departure, George N. King Jr. served as Interim Head of School for the 2024–2025 academic year before Ben Courchesne took over as permanent Head of School in 2025, according to information published by Trinity Valley School.
What Happens Next
Whether Skains ultimately collects the full $10 million award remains uncertain. Under Section 41.008 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, exemplary damages in civil cases are generally capped at the greater of $200,000 or two times economic damages plus non-economic damages up to $750,000, subject to specific statutory exceptions, according to the Baumgartner Law Firm. That framework means multi-million-dollar exemplary awards like this one can face reduction during post-trial motions or on appeal.
Trinity Valley School, founded in 1959 as the Texas Boys Choir School, is an independent coeducational college-preparatory day school set on a 75-acre campus in southwest Fort Worth, enrolling roughly 1,000 students from pre-K through 12th grade, per Wikipedia. Annual tuition for the 2026–2027 academic year reaches up to $31,625, with about 24% of enrolled students receiving need-based financial aid totaling $3.9 million, according to figures published by the school itself.
