FL: Abuse-claim settlements grow in Seminole

Dave Weber Sentinel Staff Writer
December 16, 2008
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-garrett1508dec16,0,3272473.story

SANFORD - Costs continue to rise for the Seminole County school district to settle claims that former teacher Kathleen Garrett abused the autistic students in her class at South Seminole Middle School.

The School Board on Tuesday is expected to agree to a $390,000 settlement with the mother of twin boys who are claimed to have been abused by Garrett, who worked with exceptional-education students in county schools for more than 20 years before the charges surfaced four years ago.

The board previously settled four claims. Including the latest settlement, the cost tops $2.5 million.

The proposed settlement is the third-highest. In the largest payout, the board agreed to give $1.3 million to the family of a blind, profoundly disabled autistic boy, and $520,000 to the family of another student.

Suits involving nine other students remain.

Garrett, 52, was fired soon after her arrest and was barred by a court last year from ever teaching again. Although she faced several abuse charges, Garrett was convicted of mistreating only one child and received a suspended sentence.

Still, attorneys have advised the School Board to settle many of the claims, saying they would be unlikely to convince a jury that the district was not at fault because the allegations of abuse of handicapped students are so emotionally charged.

Ned Julian, School Board attorney, said Friday that "one or two" of the remaining claims might be worthy of a settlement.

"We are getting down to the cases where we are now more and more reluctant to pay bucks," Julian said.

Meanwhile, the district is in a legal dispute with one of its insurers over how much of the Garrett claims the company is liable to pay. North River Insurance Co. covered liability claims for the district for a portion of the years Garrett was at South Seminole Middle.