Lakeside spokesperson Jackie O’Ryan says that when the elite private school terminated Regina Higgins’ contract at the end of this year, its reasons were sound. Higgins filed suit against the school earlier this month, saying she was fired after a series of insensitive incidents related to her race (she is African American). Higgins believes she was finally fired after she supported two other teachers who filed a discrimination suit against the school in 2006. (See Nina Shapiro’s story.)”I can’t publicly discuss individual performance issues,” O’Ryan says. “I can tell you this decision had nothing to do with race…. When a decision like this is made you can bet that there’s a thorough review of the issues involved.”