‘Nothing here to sugar coat’: Ninnekah residents press school board on sexual assault settlement
NINNEKAH, Okla. (KFOR) — A special school board meeting was held in Ninnekah Wednesday night as board members sought community input on their handling of a multi-million-dollar settlement.
News 4 has been following developments since results of the settlement were announced last month. It pertains to former Ninnekah girls basketball coach, Ronald Akins, who pled guilty in August last year to sexually abusing female students.
The school district agreed to a $7.5 million settlement to avoid a jury trial.
The amount must be paid out to victims over the next three years. $1 million will come from insurance, $500,000 from the district’s general fund and the rest will likely be burdened by 2,000 property owners. That could be broken up to as much as $1,000 on their taxes and could mean more for residents who own multiple parcels of land.
“This is a very small town with a very large settlement. We're going to be hurt badly by this,” said resident, Rob Helms, who attended Wednesday’s meeting hoping to get answers.
The meeting consisted of three major parts, the first focusing primarily on answering major questions that came up an October 7 board meeting. The settlement wasn’t on the agenda then, but citizens made it a focal point during public comment.
Answering questions on behalf of board members, consultant Kathleen Kennedy, with the Center for Communication and Engagement. The board approved a contract with her for $300 an hour in a separate meeting right before the meeting started.
Kennedy read the following information during the meeting:
Policy and Reporting
The District has in place policies for reporting and investigating sexual harassment as well as bullying. Additionally, there are Standards of Performance and Conduct for Teachers which require teachers to provide a safe environment for students. Once a report of sexual harassment is made, the Title IX coordinator initiates an investigation and follows the policy to investigate the allegations. Similarly, when a student reports bullying, the principal investigates and takes appropriate action.
NPS does have access to an Online Reporting system "Stoplt". You can find the reporting button on the homepage of the district website.
Settlement & Decision Making
The NPS Board of Education made the decision to accept the settlement agreement.
Taxpayers were not notified in advance of the settlement because settlement discussions are confidential by law until an agreement is made.
In evaluating the decision to proceed with the settlement, the Board had to balance the financial impact of a potential verdict as well as what they believed to be a fair settlement. The board spent many hours considering the issues and the financial impact this would have on the community.
Part of the evaluation included the following key points:
- There were 14 Plaintiffs in the civil case, all of whom brought both state and federal law claims against NPS.
- Based on the types of claims asserted, there were no limits on the amount that a jury could have awarded as emotional distress damages.
- Akins had already plead guilty to ten felony counts related to the sexual abuse of minors, resulting in 40-year prision sentence.
- Similar lawsuits around the country which have gone to trial have resulted in verdicts ranging from $30 million to $80 million.
Federal Court
The lawsuit alleged violations of federal law as well as state law. Therefore, it was appropriately filed in federal court by the Plaintiffs in the case.
Tax Impact & Repayment of Settlement
The settlement, which is now a judgment against the District, by state statute, must be paid within three years. You can find the state statute here. The county assessor is the one who determines how the tax will impact each homeowner and landowner.
Under Oklahoma law, a judgment against a political subdivision such as an independent school district is paid out of the district's sinking fund. The County Assessor calculates the amounts owed and those amounts are assessed to taxpayers over three years. If taxes are unpaid it is possible for the county to assess a lien, penalties and interest. This is up to the county assessor.
Why Didn't the District Sue the Individuals Involved?
The administrators and some Board members were initially sued in their individual capacity. However, the Plaintiffs ultimately dismissed those individual claims.
There is likely no way the District would ever get paid back the money.
All of the individuals sued can file bankruptcy.
If there was any such suit against the individuals, such action would cause additional budget/taxpayer money to be used on pursuing a lawsuit that effectively will not be paid back, including attorney fees.
“I know this is tough,” said Kennedy. “I know emotions are high.”
There were several outbursts made during the meeting by frustrated citizens, hoping to get answers to additional questions, and throwing more criticism at board members. Kennedy made it clear any displays that crossed the line would be handled by law enforcement.
“If it’s not calm and it’s not kept in an orderly fashion I’m going to ask our officer to escort people out,” said Kennedy.
One resident accused the board of paying her to keep residents calm and help them avoid accountability.
“We’ve been through all of it, all of the emotions, all of the anger all of the ideas and hopefully someone brings us new ideas,” said board member, Dustin Tate.
The second portion of the meeting included the community breaking up into groups to answers questions posed by Kennedy and provide recommendations to the board on how they’d like to see them move forward.
News 4’s John Hayes sat down with Helms’ group to hear their input.
They offered up a wide range of suggestions from the board members resigning, to asking State Superintendent Ryan Walters for guidance to putting the brakes on bond funded school projects; and trying to recoup the cost that way.
"I'd like to see some people accountable that knew about this before we homeowners and landowners did,” said resident, Steve Calhoun.
Legal representation for the district noted they hadn’t heard of a community being able to stop a bond project altogether and use the money allocated elsewhere. They said state law requires funds be used for the purposes outlined in a voter approved resolution.
Ninnekah Superintendent, Regina Jones, said the district has upped its insurance policy as recently as last week from $1 million to $4 million.
Kennedy said she plans on presenting all of the group recommendations to the board with hopes to schedule a second meeting in the next two weeks.
“There is nothing here to sugar coat,” said Kennedy. “I’m going to present what you tell us.”
News 4 reached out to attorney Cameron Spradling, who represented Akins victims for comment on Wednesday’s meeting and received the following statement:
The daughters of Ninnekah suffered unimaginable trauma. It’s been over 3 years since Ron Akins was arrested and the lawsuit was filed. It’s been over two years since Ron Akins pled guilty and was sentenced to 40 years. It’s only now when the daughters of Ninnekah receive a modicum of justice that this community wakes up. It shouldn’t have taken money for Ninnekah to have finally woke up. Shame on Ninnekah.
Cameron Spradling, Survivors Attorney