Published: November 14, 2008 09:12 pm      

Pre-trial set in school sexual harassment case

A Dec. 4 pre-trial conference has been set in the case of Kathy J. Green v. James Floyd Agee and the Madison County Board of Education, which is based on sexual harassment charges.

The Madison County School Board met Thursday evening in a regular session, where they discussed an active lawsuit during in executive session, taking no action on the matter.

The case of Kathy J. Green, former Madison County teacher v. Madison County School employee James Floyd Agee and the Madison County Board of Education was filed July 6, 2005, in Madison Circuit Court.

According to the court document, Green was employed by the Madison County School District from 1992 to Oct. 7, 2004, when she was “constructively discharged,” as reported in the document.

“During the term of her employment, Kathy complained to the board or its authorized representative that Agee had engaged in unlawful sex and gender harassment and discrimination,” the report states. “The students told Kathy that Agee told them if they were ‘good’ that he would give them money. Kathy complained several times to her supervisors and she attempted to use the remedial measures available through the board. The board, however, failed or refused to promptly remedy the unlawful harassment and discrimination.”

In the suit, Green is demanding recompensation for damages including: past and future medical and related expenses; past and future emotional distress; mental anguish; pain and suffering; lost past and future wages and other employee benefits; past and future humiliation; injury to personal and professional dignity; embarrassment; outrageous conduct; loss of enjoyment of life; and punitive damages.

Green also is requesting a trial by jury, according to the document.



In other business:

• Madison County schools will no longer have long paper trails when it comes to planning a field trip thanks to an action taken by the school board Thursday night.

All field trips district-wide can now be requested, scheduled and approved online.

“It has many benefits and hopefully everybody will learn very quickly,” said Skip Benton, director of transportation for Madison County schools. “It’s a very simple program that will allow us to do away with paper and it will be done solely online. A teacher will be able to request a field trip from home or anywhere they can get to the Internet.”

Each teacher throughout the district will be given a log-in name and password.

“Once the request is made, it will go directly to the principal of that particular school,” Benton said. “It also will send an e-mail to the principal saying that a teacher has just requested a field trip. (The principal) can then act upon that request when (he or she) has time to do it.”

Signing paperwork related to school field trips is something that Madison County Superintendent Tommy Floyd does frequently on a daily basis.

“Our utilization of this tool is in direct line with your charge to me and our staff to make things in Madison County more efficient. I can’t say enough about what Mr. Benton has done. He personally went to each of our principals and gave them a training session.”

• The board approved the following construction projects: $172,000 to replace bleachers at Madison Central High School; security doors will be installed at the entrances of Shannon Johnson, Silver Creek, Kirksville, Bellvue and Kit Carson elementary schools for a cost of $28,400; 20 windows will be replaced at Clark-Moores Middle School for $19,500 and 21 windows will be replaced at White Hall Elementary for a cost of $21,400.

• Floyd gave an update about the planned access road to the new Glenn Marshall Elementary School and B. Michael Caudill Middle School, both located close in proximity off the Robert R. Martin Bypass.

“(State Sen.) Ed Worley, Glenn Marshall, myself, (state Rep.) Harry Moberly, along with the (Madison Judge/Executive Kent Clark) and (Richmond Mayor Connie Lawson) are going to get together very soon to talk about the particulars,” Floyd said. “I’ve received information that at least one main entrance would be on the west side of the property.

• Announced work to re-district Madison County students is in motion. “We are working very hard on our re-districting of who is going to go where to middle school next year,” Floyd said. “We have spent about four or five days worth of total time. We are getting very close. I expect that we will be able to release that information some time in the winter.”

The next regular meeting of the Madison County School Board will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11, in the Madison Central High School Lecture Hall.



Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.