Friday, November 20, 2009 East Central Illinois

Urbana school district could face legal action

By: Mary Schenk

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Thursday, February 21, 2008

The county's top prosecutor said action against Urbana school officials is possible, and that "warning signs were ignored," in the actions of former teacher Jon White.

Meanwhile, lawyers representing some of the children say they are ready to sue White and the school districts where he worked.

Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz said Urbana school district officials had been alerted by parents about White's actions but did not contact police.

"Talk to your children. People should be skeptical," Rietz said when asked if there are any lessons to be learned from the White case.

The Urbana and McLean County school districts where White worked, and White, should be expecting lawsuits, several lawyers for the victims said Wednesday. The Urbana district's lawyer said the district knew the lawsuits were coming.

"Now that the criminal matter has been resolved, it opens the matter up for a civil lawsuit," said attorney Ellyn Bullock, who represents the families of two of the girls. Tom Bruno, a Champaign city council member whose Urbana law firm represents three of the girls and their families, confirmed he will be suing the school districts and White.

Bruno was in court to hear Rietz lay out the state's evidence against White for Judge Harry Clem. That included the fact that one set of parents brought to the attention of now-retired Principal Janice Bradley in early November 2006 that White was engaging their daughter and others in a "taste-test game" in his room.

Rietz said Bradley interviewed White on Nov. 3, 2006, and he told her he was conducting a taste-test unit with his entire class as part of a section on diversity and Helen Keller.

Another set of parents who learned in December 2006 of their daughter engaging in the taste-test game with White also alerted Bradley in early January.

Bullock said the Urbana school district "had received a complaint and did not handle the complaint in the manner required," she said. "They're mandated reporters and they failed to make a mandated report."

Bruno said the districts should have been "doing their homework" with respect to White, with "McLean County (school district) reporting accurately what they knew to be the truth and as to Urbana diligently finding out that truth."

He said families "are relieved that Jon White has pled guilty, and they remain very angry at Mr. White for his actions and disappointed in the school district for their role in allowing this to happen."

Attorney Steve Amjad of Champaign said a family he represents hasn't decided whether to sue.

Urbana attorney Michael McClellan is also representing a family. "Now (that) we have a chance to assess the evidence," he said, civil suits can move forward.

On Wednesday, Urbana school Superintendent Preston Williams said in a prepared statement: "We hope that Mr. White's plea helps provide closure for the students, families, teachers and staff of Thomas Paine Elementary School and District 116. The Urbana School District looks to continue its long-standing commitment to serve the community by providing the highest quality and safe education for all of our students."

The district referred all questions to its attorney, Dennis Weedman of Decatur.

Mark Netter, president of the Urbana school board, said board members would also refer questions to Weedman, as he also is the board's attorney.

Weedman said the district had already received letters notifying them of upcoming suits, as required by law. "We've given notice (of the letters) to the insurance carriers that would ultimately defend and pay any claims," he said.

Taxpayers, in addition to paying for the school district's insurance, may end up footing part of the bill if suits are successful.

"Whatever the insurance company is not going to cover, the school district's going to have to cover out of its tort fund ... like you have a deductible out of your auto insurance," Weedman said. "The school district may ultimately have to pay for it through tax dollars."

If suits go to trial, the children spared testifying for White's criminal trial may have to testify after all.

"If they choose to be plaintiffs, were it ever to advance to trial, the plaintiff here has the burden of proof," he said, adding that the school district doesn't have control over whether a child would testify.

The school district had hired the Taylor Law Offices of Effingham to conduct an external review to determine if and where mistakes were made, but then suspended the investigation, "so as not to interfere (with) the state's investigation and prosecution of the matter," Weedman said.

Though some of the district's employees have retired – including Bradley, former Superintendent Gene Amberg and Carmelita Thomas, the former head of human resources – they may still be defended at taxpayer expense.

The school district is legally obligated to "defend and indemnify its employees for acts of negligence ... as arise in the normal course of their employment," Weedman said. He said whether any employees would fall under that would be determined "on a case-by-case basis."

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