Laura Cooper was awarded nearly half a million dollars in a settlement agreement regarding her sex and age discrimination lawsuit against Jefferson City Public Schools.
The confidential agreement was signed by the involved parties on Aug. 22, about a week before the case was officially dismissed by the Cole County Circuit Court. The News Tribune obtained the agreement after filing a public records request.
Cooper's petition alleged she was subjected to a "hostile work environment as a result of her gender and age," according to the settlement agreement. She resigned after teaching in the district for 18 years. She currently teaches at Father Tolton Catholic High School in Columbia.
Of the total $450,000 settlement, Cooper was awarded $255,000. The district's insurance company, Continental Western Insurance Company, agreed to pay $195,000 for all attorney's fees and costs, according to the agreement.
JCPS' contribution to the entire settlement will not exceed $140,000, according to the agreement. The district has paid $149,928 to its attorney, Mickes, O'Toole, LLC, according to a public records request.
The settlement details the agreement is a compromise and "shall never be construed as an admission by the parties of any liability, wrongdoing or responsibility on their part," and "the parties expressly deny any such liability, wrongdoing or responsibility."
A non-disclosure agreement was included, prohibiting either party from discussing the settlement. It was not clarified in the agreement which party - JCPS or Cooper - requested the non-disclosure.
But, under Missouri's Sunshine Law, that agreement could not block the release of the documents.
The school board has met several times in closed session over the past couple months to discuss the litigation and voted twice to authorize dollar amounts to settle the case.
On July 11, the seven board members voted unanimously to authorize up to $75,000 for the Cooper settlement.
On Aug. 8, the seven board members voted unanimously to authorize up to $140,000 for the settlement - the figure outlined in the settlement as JCPS' maximum contribution.
Board President John Ruth said he could not answer any questions regarding the litigation because of the non-disclosure agreement.
In May, former Jefferson City High School journalism teacher Karen Ray - who currently works at Nixa Public Schools - won her sex and age discrimination lawsuit against the district. She was granted $24,000 in damages for a hostile work environment and being forced to leave the district because of the "intolerable" conditions.
She was also awarded $225,000 in punitive damages, meant to "punish" the district and deter this type of situation from happening again.
According to a public records request, JCPS has paid $449,644 to their attorney, Mickes, O'Toole, LLC.
JCPS also approved a disbursement in August to Popham Law Firm, made payable to Ray, for $140,000.
According to the documents provided in the public records requests, JCPS has paid $879,572 between the two lawsuits.
The News Tribune made a public records request for the total amount paid for by the district's insurance company but was told by district officials there is no public document outlining that dollar amount.
Cooper's case was settled on the heels of Superintendent Larry Linthacum's one-year anniversary with the district. He was hired to replace Brian Mitchell, the superintendent named in Ray's discrimination lawsuit.
"We're excited to move forward," Linthacum said. "We need to face the music, and we need to focus on the areas we need to get better at. And we're trying to stay the course. We've had some speed bumps along the way, and this is just part of the process that we need to work through. Let's learn from it and move forward."
As to how the lawsuits have affected his first year with the district, Linthacum said this isn't about him, it's about the students and the staff.
A toxic work environment cited by Ray and Cooper was the catalyst for the lawsuits, and Linthacum has built some of the district's new strategic plan around creating a culture and climate where staff feel motivated.
Principal Robert James, who is beginning his second year at the high school, said he was aware of the culture complaints and lawsuits before he applied for the job.
"There was some distance or perceived distance between the administration and the teachers, and that was barring pretty roughly on the day-to-day and was resulting in a couple of lawsuits," James said. "Coming in, I think I got the benefit of the doubt from a lot of teachers and staff."
However, he said there may still be some trust issues from staff, and some people are still trying to feel out his leadership style and their role.
His leadership style is more collaborative, he said, whereas the past administration may have had a top-down approach - they were the bosses, and the staff were the workers.
He's created a leadership team made up of 15 teachers and eight or 10 administrators who contribute to a majority of the decisions made around the high school, including hiring new staff. The collaborative style has made one of the biggest differences in slowly changing the climate, he said.
Ninety percent of the decisions are made collaboratively, and 10 percent of the decisions he makes himself.
"They (the staff) trust that I'll give away every decision I can and share that leadership," he said. "When we come to a decision that has to be mine and mine alone, they trust that and the background chatter from those decisions has been reduced by about 90 percent. I think that's due to trust."
Last fall, the school also began a climate committee that organizes snack days, breakfasts, nacho days and gives out T-shirts to help rally staff and rebuild Jay pride. He's heard positive feedback and thanks from teachers for the little acts of kindness produced by the committee.
Linthacum frequently says "culture trumps strategy every time," and he's right, James said. It takes a long time to rebuild a positive culture, but he thinks it's improving slowly but surely.
"The high school isn't a building; it's the people in it," he said. "If it's going to be a great place to work, we have to agree as a staff that it's going to be a great place to work and be committed to that. If we do that, then we'll be fine. It'll be solved one person at a time, and if it is, we'll be headed to great places."