NW Democrat-Gazette

It’s a start

Huntsville School Board leaps at settlement

We aren’t lawyers, and there are many days we’re thankful for that. Don’t get us wrong. We know and respect a lot of attorneys and, if we faced troubles in a court of law, there’s no question we’d want the very best we could get by our sides.

The practice of law, though, is often challenging to understand. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say the outcomes arising from the practice of law can be real head-scratchers.

A woman last September sued the Huntsville School District in federal court over a series of sexual assaults and sexual harassment involving some members of the boys middle school basketball team, a situation that sparked controversy within the community and criminal investigations. On Monday, the woman’s lawyer, Joey McCutchen, offered to drop that lawsuit if the School District paid $1 to the woman and admitted liability. He even said he would waive attorney fees. The case could not be refiled.

The settlement offer would require the School District to provide training for all staff designed to ensure protection of all students.

The Huntsville School Board unanimously accepted the offer. But back to the lawyers: The school board’s attorney, Charles Harwell, described McCutchen’s proposal as “very practical and attractive.” So, naturally, he recommended the school board reject it.

The problem, according to Harwell, was McCutchen’s demand for an admission of liability. Even though McCutchen’s client was willing to let bygones be bygones, there’s no way to ensure other victims won’t make claims against the School District, Harwell said.

“So instead of closing the book on these terrible acts, it may be opening the flood gates of litigation,” Harwell advised. He also said admission of liability means the district is “forever cast as a ‘wrongdoer,’” a label likely to be raised by future attorneys if the district is entangled in any future litigation.

So who’s doing the right thing in this ugly episode?

It’s possible everyone is right. Which can be a frustrating thing to grasp to those outside the legal profession. And maybe even inside.

Harwell’s job is to defend the School District by limiting liability as much as possible.

The School Board — which, thanks to the voters in May, saw almost 100% turnover from the board in charge when the alleged assaults occurred and the fallout badly mishandled — has a different job: It’s got to find a way to help the district and the community move past the horrible events involving the basketball players. Its role is to ensure the community’s children are educated, safely and thoroughly. Accepting responsibility for how all this played out may be a big step toward healing and setting things right — as right as they can be.

As for McCutchen and his client? Nobody will ever accuse McCutchen of backing down from a fight, but litigation doesn’t always have to get a final hearing in the courtroom to achieve all or some of its goals. The basketball coach resigned that post last year. The district has a different superintendent now. The School Board is almost entirely new. And the educators and staff within the district will undergo training that should decrease the chances of future harm to students.

“I think we all want to move forward,” School Board member Nick Wilson said in Monday’s meeting. “I think that’s what we as a board want to do. That’s the whole reason any of us ran, to make a difference and move forward, right? And if this helps us to do that, I’m willing to accept it.”

Accepting it could be a good thing for everyone concerned. Embracing the responsibility to do things better in the future is a necessity. That includes operating the School Board with transparency, something the former School Board members failed to do.

Is controversy over? That remains to be seen. Harwell’s concerns aren’t insignificant and the infractions involving the students were truly egregious. But acceptance of the proposed settlement is a start.

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2022-07-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-07-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://edition.nwaonline.com/article/282084870549657

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