DEKALB, Ill. – An Illinois school administrator is fighting for her job after she was terminated from the district for handing out a book of prayers to staff as a gift for Staff Appreciation Week in May.

The DeKalb School District 428 school board voted 5-2 last Monday to dismiss Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School principal Shahran Spears after several complaints against her, mostly for distributing the book “Inspire for Teachers: Prayers, Promises, and Proverbs for Those Who Change Lives and Touch Hearts” as a gift to teachers this spring, the Daily Chronicle reports.

Spears reportedly used a procurement card for $200 to buy the books.

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Spears filed federal Title VII claims with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over the termination, alleging discrimination, and could sue the district if given approval in the next 30 to 60 days, according to the news site.

The board discussion about Spears’ termination took place in closed session, and officials wouldn’t discuss specifics about the move afterwards, Northern Public Radio reports.

“The hearing lasted six-and-a-half hours,” superintendent Douglas Miller told the Daily Chronicle. “In the end, everyone voted the way they thought they needed to.”

Spears spoke on camera after her termination, and vowed to continue her fight.

“What I beg of you today, is do not let my experience go in vain. I agree with Gemini, it’s 2015 I can’t believe we’re still here. It is not 1969,” she said, according to a Daily Chronicle video. “And so now you have an awesome responsibility. You need to attend these board meetings. You need to ask questions, even if you have to do a rotating schedule.

“You lose your grieving rights if you’re not present. So the times of saying, ‘I don’t know’ are over.”

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“I did nothing wrong out of malice. It was a gesture,” she said. “And to turn it into something ugly, and say I have a bias toward kids with IEPs … no. But if that’s how you do the game, that’s how you do the game.

“I don’t play like that.”

Officials wouldn’t discuss the case, but documents obtained by the Daily Chronicle show the district charged Spears with eight alleged misconduct violations, six of which were tied to the inspirational prayer book.

“In your capacity as principal of the Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School, on May 4, 2015, you distributed a prayer and proverbs book entitled Inspire for Teachers: Prayers, Promises and Proverbs for Those Who Change Lives and Touch Hearts to the teaching staff along with an email to teachers stating: ‘ … In your mailbox is a small token of appreciation n behalf of Staff Appreciation Week. It is what I turn to as that gently push, that gently reminder of why I do what I do not as a job, but as a chosen vocation. I sincerely hope you find something within its pages to fill your cup, if not make it runneth over.’ The content of this book included prayers directed to students with disabilities, among other categories of students and situations.”

The book included prayers for angry, fearful, rebellious, special needs and other types of students.

“God, I speak peace to the raging thoughts that flood his/her mind. Devil, I command you to take your hands off _______; he/she is set apart for the work of God. He/She is the seed of the righteous and delivered from every trick of the devil,” one of the prayers read.

“I speak of deliverance to my student(s) __________ who is/are overcoming genuine physical, mental, or emotional disabilities. I plead the blood of Jesus over __________ and command Satan to desist in his attack against him/her,” read another.

The charges against also cited complaints filed against Spears by a parent and union representatives over religious references allegedly made during a November 2014 “Rise and Shine” meeting with students and staff, the Daily Chronicle reports.

According to Northern Public Radio, Spears’ “legacy at Brooks elementary will include diversifying the staff and raising test scores, two areas she says the district must continue to improve.”

The author of “Inspire for Teachers,” Josie Carr, told the Daily Chronicle she’s “appalled” the board voted to fire Spears for dolling out her book.

“It has sold thousands of copies and because it has to do with teachers, it is given out a lot during staff appreciation weeks. It was marketed around that time with that very idea in mind,” she said.