Longview ISD will pay $2.5 million to the families of 10 children at the center of allegations that six former educators abused special needs children at J. L. Everhart Elementary School.
District trustees agreed Monday night to allow their attorney to resolve the potential claim involving the students.
The four teachers and two campus administrators were arrested earlier this summer and then released on bond. They each face varying charges that include injuring a child and unlawful restraint.
Tyler attorney Shane McGuire, of The McGuire Firm, and Geoff Hoover, with the Longview law firm Sorey & Hoover, represent the children and their families. Hoover verified that he and McGuire were told by the district性视界传媒檚 attorney that the school board agreed to the $2.5 million settlement.
性视界传媒淔rom at least August 2019 to October 2021, 10 special needs children suffered abuse and discrimination by teachers and administrators at the J.L Everhart Elementary campus in Longview, Texas,性视界传媒 a statement from the attorneys said. Everhart is a campus that is overseen by East Texas Advanced Academies, one of the charter schools that operate within Longview ISD. (ETAA is not associated with East Texas Charter School in Longview.)
性视界传媒淢any of the children were among the most vulnerable of our society, diagnosed as autistic nonverbal, and the only way we know the abuse occurred is because it was caught on camera,性视界传媒 the attorneys性视界传媒 statement said.
The settlement will provide each child $250,000.
性视界传媒淲hile this will never undo the harm caused to these children and families, it will provide some financial security for the children who will face hardship their entire lives,性视界传媒 the attorneys性视界传媒 statement said.
The district would not comment Monday night.
The allegations came to light months after Cynthia Wise, the former CEO of East Texas Advanced Academies, resigned and received a $350,000 lump sum payment as part of an 性视界传媒渁micable separation agreement.性视界传媒 The agreement also called for ETAA to provide her a letter of recommendation. District officials have said little about why she resigned, and she was not one of the people charged in the abuse investigation.
However, the payment to Wise was an issue that concerned parents of the children in the abuse case, McGuire said.
性视界传媒淓very one of our clients has brought up the $350,000 that (Wise) got,性视界传媒 he said. 性视界传媒淚t was a major sticking point.性视界传媒
He said, however, that every case has to be evaluated by the facts and the law, and he said from that perspective he believes the families received 性视界传媒渘ot just a fair settlement, but I feel like we got a great settlement.性视界传媒
Hoover said they learned from the district and a TEA attorney that settlements in other similar cases have not been as large, and in that context it is a 性视界传媒渞ecord settlement.性视界传媒
The women who have been charged are: former J.L. Everhart teacher性视界传媒檚 aide Paula Hawkins Dixon, 59; former special education teacher Cecilia Gregg, 57; former Principal Cassandra Renee James, 48; former International Baccalaureate teacher Priscilla Rosa Johnson, 56; former Curriculum Coordinator/Assistant Principal Linda Kay Browne Lister, 61; and former teacher性视界传媒檚 aide Cynthia Denise Talley, 55.
According to another statement from the attorneys, the abuse included:
- Taping a mask to a nonverbal, autistic child性视界传媒檚 face, then taping his hands together so he could not use them to attempt to remove it;
- Striking children repeatedly on their heads, ears, torsos, legs, arms and hands;
- Repeatedly placing children in a supply closet;
- Intentionally pulling a chair out from under a child so he would fall to the floor;
- Putting a child in a headlock and pulling him out of the bathroom.
Parent Tabatha Samis is identified in the attorneys性视界传媒 statement as the parent of one of the students. In the statement, Samis said she thought school was one of the very few places she could feel safe leaving her son.
性视界传媒淚 thought I could trust the teachers and other adults at the school to care for him, but now I know that wasn性视界传媒檛 true,性视界传媒 she is quoted as saying in the statement. 性视界传媒淢y son was repeatedly hit with a yard stick on several occasions on various parts of his body, actually sat on by a teacher, and forced to stand for long amounts of time as 性视界传媒榩unishment.性视界传媒 性视界传媒
The experience, she said, will make it 性视界传媒渧ery difficult for me to ever trust another caretaker again.性视界传媒
Once the settlement is approved between the district and the families, the family性视界传媒檚 attorneys will file a formal lawsuit in state court. Because it性视界传媒檚 a settlement that involves children, the court must consider the settlement. Each child性视界传媒檚 settlement, minus expenses and fees, will be put into trusts.
Hoover and McGuire said it appears that these reports of abuse are not something isolated to Longview ISD. Since news of this case surfaced, they have received reports of similar incidents at several other Northeast Texas school districts.
The attorneys encouraged other families whose special needs children have encountered abuse or discrimination at J.L. Everhart to contact them.
