School district settles one lawsuit, depositions begin with other
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, January 31, 2017
The Vashon Island School District has agreed to pay $20,000 to an island ferry worker to settle a lawsuit involving the district’s alleged retaliation against her for comments she made online.
According to documents obtained by The Beachcomber last week, as part of the settlement, islander Kimm Shride has agreed to drop any further claims, preventing the case from ever being brought back to court. Meanwhile, the district does not admit liability to any part of the suit filed in U.S. District Court three months ago.
“My client is just trying to put it behind her,” Shride’s attorney Joe Schaefer said last week before saying he feels the settlement is “a fair amount.”
When the case was filed in late October, Schaefer said that he had approached the district about settling and was told it was not interested. Reached this week, the district’s attorney, Mark O’Donnell, said that the settlement is the result of a business decision “entirely driven” by the district’s insurance company.
“(The dispute was resolved) at a fraction of what it would’ve cost to defend the lawsuit,” O’Donnell said. “Neither (Superintendent Michael Soltman) nor the district admitted liability.”
The suit alleged that the Vashon Island School District (VISD) and Soltman, retaliated against Shride after she posted a photo of a VISD advertisement promoting the island’s elementary school to an island Facebook page. The June 2015 post was accompanied with the comment, “enough is enough” referring to off-island students. After finding out about the post, Soltman contacted the ferry system, where Shride is employed as a dock worker, and complained about her conduct when dealing with off-island students on the dock, which he said was “abusive and unprofessional.” After an investigation, she was cleared. He also contacted First Student, where Shride works as a substitute bus driver. She was briefly removed, but reinstated.
No set monetary amount was being sought, but damages included lost back pay and general damages.
Shride’s suit was one of two suits filed against VISD last year. The first suit, filed by islander Kelly Wright in April of 2016, is underway and depositions have begun. The case is scheduled to go to trial in September.
