Rodney Prewitt
KALAMAZOO, MI -- A sexual harassment lawsuit between a district employee and Kalamazoo Public Schools was settled for nearly $500,000.
The lawsuit against the district and former Loy Norrix principal Rodney Prewitt said he made unwanted advances toward Alicia Curry, a school counselor.
The lawsuit was settled, but the agreement was not originally available to the public.
Kalamazoo Public Schools permitted MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette to inspect the document after a Freedom of Information Act request was submitted.
The settlement between Curry and her attorneys and Middle Cities Risk Management Trust, which represented both the district and Prewitt, said Curry was paid $495,000. The settlement allots $115,000 of the payout to Curry's attorneys.
The district is responsible to pay for the $25,000 insurance deductible, school spokesperson Alex Lee said in a statement to MLive.
"The insurer negotiated the terms of the settlement and paid the costs thereof" except for the deductible, Lee said.
Curry said in the lawsuit filed in December 2016 that her civil rights and First Amendment rights were violated due to a sexually hostile environment created by Prewitt, who was serving as the principal at Loy Norrix High School.
Prewitt and Curry were in a consensual relationship, but she said the work environment became hostile after the couple split.
Her claims were investigated but the school found that they had no merit.
Through the school's investigation, district officials found that Prewitt had lied on his employment application, claiming no prior discipline. The investigation found that he had been disciplined for sexual harassment by the Florida Educational Practices Commission while he worked as a teacher in Florida.
In an order on April 2, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Jonker dismissed a First Amendment claim brought by Curry, but not her remaining claims of sexual harassment, sex discrimination and retaliation under Michigan's Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act.
The lawsuit was later dismissed -- in an order signed Wednesday, Aug. 8, by Jonker -- as a result of the settlement reached between the parties.
The settlement also said Curry was to resign from her position with the district, effective Aug. 17. She is not permitted to seek any future employment with the school, but is allowed to volunteer for events as a parent of a student in the district, the settlement said.
According to the settlement, Prewitt and the district are not admitting fault in the case. The agreement was entered into "solely to avoid further expenses of litigation."
Curry and her attorneys agreed that the settlement is not an "admission of any obligation, liability or fault," the settlement said.
All parties of the agreement were subject to a confidentiality clause which said they must only share that the lawsuit "ended amicably."
Attorneys for Curry and the district were unable to be reached for comment late Friday.