(The Center Square) – Two school administrators must pay Springfield Public Schools $312,869 in attorney fees after a First Amendment lawsuit against the district was dismissed.
In January, U.S. District Judge Douglas Harpool granted a summary judgment in favor of the school district. In February, Harpool allowed the district to request attorney fees.
In 2021, Brooke Henderson, a compliance coordinator who ensures students with disabilities receive appropriate benefits and services, and Jennifer Lumley, a records secretary, filed a lawsuit through Southeastern Legal Foundation attorney Kimberly Hermann. They claimed a mandatory training demanding they “commit” to equity and become “anti-racist” educators violated their First Amendment rights.
The school district requested the court award attorney’s fees in its motion to dismiss the case. The administrators argued payment of legal fees is appropriate only when claims are frivolous or lacking basis in law or fact.
At the end of a 25-page ruling dismissing the suit, Harpool said the administrators didn’t suffer an injury regarding claims of compelled speech and the “groundlessness” of the suit “trivializes the important work of the federal judiciary.”
“Taxpayer dollars which could have been devoted to enhancing the educational opportunity of the students served by the district have instead been diverted to the defense of this lawsuit,” Harpool wrote. “The students of the district deserve better. So too do the taxpayers whose...
STERLING, Ill. (Rockford News First/KWQC) - Following uproar over a decision to euthanize a dog, attorneys for Whiteside County Animal Control Director James Garcia launch an investigation for a p...