Updated April 19 — After nearly two years in federal court, a former Sequim School District employee reached settlement agreements in March worth a combined $1.5 million over claims of sex discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment.

The school district agreed to give $1 million to Hanna McAndie, a former student support specialist, on March 10 in Tacoma’s U.S. District Court, and former superintendent Robert Clark agreed to a $500,000 settlement on March 16, according to McAndie’s lawyer, Daniel Gallagher.

Her filed lawsuit, in part, included incidents between 2019-2020 when a formal complaint about former Sequim Middle School principal Vincent Riccobene’s behavior to her and a special education student was not formally filed/handled by administrators.

The lawsuit also asserted Clark asked staff to substantiate a claim she had had an affair with former superintendent Gary Neal despite not filing paperwork or notifying the district’s risk pool while Clark served as human resources director.

Funds for the school district’s $1 million settlement with McAndie will come from the Washington Schools Risk Management Pool (WSRMP), according to Sequim schools’ current superintendent, Regan Nickels.

“This financial settlement was paid in full by the risk pool,” she said via email. “The district has paid no monies related to Mr. Clark’s settlement or its own settlement.”

Chris Williams, manager of claims and legal affairs for WSRMP, said the agency “has not yet paid any settlement amount to McAndie on behalf of Robert Clark.”

Nickels said the district’s settlement has no financial effect on local residents.

WSRMP members fund it as a pool, Williams said, but they do not reimburse the agency from settlement amounts.

Gallagher said he’s unsure where the money from Clark’s settlement will come from.

Clark’s lawyer Lori Bemis did not respond to a request for comment about the settlement.

Update April 19:

Williams said in an April 18 email that “WSRMP has paid $1,000,000 to McAndie on behalf of the Sequim School District, and has paid her $490,000 on behalf of Robert Clark.”

He answered a question about the district’s annual contribution to WSRMP, saying the Sequim School District contributed $567,3000 to WSRMP for all selected coverages and that’s its contribution for 2023-24 has not been set yet.

Trial stopped

A trial over McAndie’s claims was set to begin on March 27, with dozens of school district employees, board members and community members named as potential witnesses.

However, in light of the settlements, the complaints were dismissed on March 17.

Gallagher said in a phone interview that he and McAndie sought a trial. Remediation was attempted late last year unsuccessfully, according to court documents.

“We didn’t feel the district was serious (with its offer),” Gallagher said.

After District Court judge John H. Chun ruled for partial summary judgment on March 3 for the three parties, they began working with a mediator, Gallagher said.

No wrongdoing was admitted, he said, and while he requested an apology and positive letter of recommendation, McAndie will receive a neutral letter about her employment.

Gallagher said they did not ask for policy changes as part of the settlement. He said they felt the district hadn’t changed any policies since he represented another former school district employee in 2019 who settled a lawsuit for $850,000.

Middle school teacher and former Athletic Director Autumn St. George settled a federal lawsuit against the school district and three employees, including Riccobene, saying the school district created a hostile work environment on the basis of her sexual orientation that constituted sex discrimination and retaliation against her for opposing that environment.

Gallagher said he hopes the administrators who left the district “learn their lesson, (but) unfortunately people like Hanna get disciplined.”

Asked about updated procedures about reporting misconduct, Nickels said “the district has not set new or different procedures but does have (policy and procedure for sexual harassment updated in 2015) in place and is working to ensure it is facilitated appropriately.”

“District administration has been trained in such facilitation,” she said.

Nickels said, “The policies have not changed. However, the review of policies has become routine and systemic through a monthly district Policy Committee. Also, legal training for both (Human Resources) and the Superintendent in areas of identification, complaints and investigation of allegations of harassment and discrimination was conducted this year.

“Proactive training that builds awareness and clarifies standards, expectations and procedures is key.”

Nickels said following the settlement, “the profile of the district leadership is different now and the facilitation of district policy and procedure aligned with state and federal law is clear with up-to-date legal training for both HR and the Superintendent.”

The district will evaluate “effective employee training,” Nickels said, adding that “Vector Solutions training is utilized in an online format (and) the district is exploring in person training opportunities that have been noted to be especially effective.”

Complaints

McAndie filed her original federal suit against the school district in March 2021 and amended it to 10 claims for relief in September 2022.

The lawsuit arises out of an alleged “hostile work environment, sexual harassment, and retaliation,” following McAndie’s formal complaint about Riccobene’s actions toward a special education student on or about April 25, 2019.

According to the complaint, McAndie led a hearing with the Community Truancy Board (CTB) to address the student’s truancy, and with the child’s mother unable to attend, Riccobene brought the child to the meeting instead.

According to court documents, Riccobene was “belligerent and intimidating” to McAndie, and also “openly mocked and belittled (the) special education student in a discriminatory manner.”

A third-party investigator Shawn Flood substantiated in a July 1, 2019 report the allegations that Riccobene spoke to McAndie in “an aggressive, sarcastic and intimidating manner (and) confirmed he “interrupted staff, rephrased their statements and interrupted and spoke for (the student),” according to court documents.

McAndie’s complaint states that after verbally reporting the incidents to her supervisors another district staffer failed to keep the complaint confidential.

According to former assistant superintendent Jennifer Maughan’s court declaration in September 2022, she said Neal removed Riccobene from his position in May 2019 to serve as co-principal at Greywolf Elementary after the settlement with St. George.

However, Riccobene filed a grievance, which Maughan denied, but the school board “interceded” on his behalf, she said.

Neal left the district in June 2019 and Clark was hired as interim superintendent in July.

Due to holding “varied job duties,” Neal allowed McAndie to “flex (her) schedule to attend after-hour programming, school board meetings and then eventually truancy court,” according to court documents, but fellow staff reported she “never complied with providing a schedule of where she would be … and most (staff) felt like McAndie did not work her full hours every day.”

Clark met with McAndie about his concerns about her flexible work schedule, and in November 2019, she was reassigned as student support specialist from her previous positions, according to court documents. Her complaint asserts she felt intimidated into signing over a change in job responsibilities.

Investigations

Court documents say that in February 2020, Clark spoke with McAndie’s then-father-in-law John McAndie, district maintenance and facilities director, to substantiate a rumor he had heard about an alleged affair between her and Neal.

In a December 2022 statement to the court, John McAndie said he told Clark he did not know anything about it, and that Clark “asked me to keep our conversation to myself and not to share it with others as it was sensitive information.”

During Clark’s deposition, he said he only spoke to four staffers, but Maughan said that in September 2020 Clark told her he interviewed “no less than seven” people about the alleged affair, according to court documents.

Clark did not document the investigation, nor contact the district’s counsel, its risk management department, Hanna McAndie or Neal.

Hanna McAndie filed a formal complaint of sexual harassment against Clark “and any other staff spreading the rumor in violation of SSD policy” on Oct. 9, 2020. Clark was placed on administrative leave on Oct. 22, 2020.

During an investigation into his conduct, Clark resigned on Jan. 7, 2021, and Sequim School Board directors unanimously approved Clark’s resignation on Jan. 19, 2021.

Documents state that the investigation concluded as he resigned.

Summary judgment

Chun wrote in in his now unsealed March 3 “Motions for Summary Judgment” conclusion maintaining, in part, two of McAndie’s sex discrimination claims; portions of two retaliation claims, including McAndie’s job duties changing and the investigation into her alleged affair; and her claims of a hostile work environment.

“McAndie has introduced evidence sufficient to create material issues of fact as (there were) changes to her job and Clark’s investigation were adverse employment actions for (McAndie’s) retaliation claims,” he wrote.

For McAndie’s complaint against Riccobene, Clark told Maughan he placed a disciplinary letter in his file, but she later learned it was never placed, according to Chun, nor did he contact McAndie about the complaint’s outcome.

Maughan stated in a declaration that Clark was behind McAndie’s job changes strategically to burden [her] into resigning.

As to the investigation into the possible affair, Clark said during his deposition that he looked into it because of his concern that Neal had abused his position of power, according to court documents.

Chun said that though a jury could doubt Clark’s reasoning for pursuing the investigation. He wrote, “(McAndie) explains that while Clark testified during his deposition that he was ‘concerned about quid-pro-quo,’ she doubts Clark told the truth ‘because he chose not to inform anyone from … risk management about the allegation, nor was [she] involved in the process as a potential victim (and) [t]here are no known records of [Clark’s] investigation.’”

Additionally, Chun added that McAndie “presented sufficient evidence that she was subjected to sex-based harassment from SSD staff to survive summary judgment (and that) circuit courts have ruled that rumors of female employees’ sexual activity may constitute sex-based harassment.”

While considering the pervasive discriminatory workplace culture for women perpetrated by male leaders, Chun wrote that “a reasonable factfinder could conclude that SSD maintained a pervasive abusive working environment for women,” and that “a reasonable juror could conclude that the rumored affair, along with the discriminatory working environment for women, made it more difficult for [McAndie] to do her job, to take pride in her work, and to desire to stay in her position.”

Maughan and other female employees requested an executive session with the school board for women to “speak freely without retribution” about Clark’s sexual harassment but the board declined, Chun wrote.

Maughan said she received “countless complaints” from women about Clark, but she expressed that “female staff members and even community members were reluctant to file formal complaints for fear of retaliation,” according to court documents.

Well-being

McAndie began a “long-term leave of absence” on Feb. 8, 2021, and said in her Jan. 17, 2023 deposition due to an internal infection and a surgery, and “emotionally unable to return as well.

“I was expected to return from (Paid Family and Medical Leave) in February 2021, but instead could no longer tolerate the hostile work environment and sexual harassment at Sequim School District and began a long-term leave of absence.”

McAndie said she has not had regular income since going on leave, borrowed substantial money to survive, had been hospitalized four times in 2022 and was struggling with mental health.

Gallagher said medical evaluations done by two expert witnesses about McAndie’s well-being were published on the federal document site Pacer for about 24 hours until they were sealed again from public viewing.

He said he felt it was likely done in negligence and not intentionally.

Prior to going on leave, McAndie had completed coursework to become a certified special education teacher, according to court documents, but she was “unable to complete her demonstrated teaching to obtain her certification which has prevented her from accepting a position as a certificated special education teacher, ” the complaint states. “The resulting loss of future earnings is significant.”

Gallagher said McAndie, a Sequim High graduate, later finished her student teaching in Jefferson County, and that he hopes with ongoing therapy she can work in the special education field.

According to Nickels, the district has three outstanding lawsuits — two from Eric Hood regarding public records requests, which he has multiple pending with several state school districts; and a third over lost wages with former employee Cassandra Oberembt, which is now in arbitration, according to court documents.

Maughan settlement

Maughan settled a claim against the school district in June 2022 for $725,000, plus about $47,000 in accrued holiday/leave time.

She filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on March 22, 2021 alleging acts of discrimination/retaliation against her by former Interim-Superintendent Jane Pryne.

Maughan was placed on administrative leave on Sept. 4, 2021, a day after the school district received the complaint.

In testimony from McAndie’s lawsuit, Maughan said she felt she had been “passed over for consideration for Superintendent, been subjected to unwanted sex-based commentary, had her job duties taken away/minimized, physically assaulted, etc.”

Maughan said she was “subjected to an investigation of allegations that I shared confidential information about (former Sequim High School principal Shawn Langston) and (Clark) being placed on administrative leave” and that it was an act of retaliation due to her role in their and Riccobene’s investigations, including McAndie’s complaints, according to court documents.

Maughan said her complaint against Pryne was never investigated and when she attempted to return from leave, Pryne refused to return Maughan to her position, because Maughan believed Langston and Riccobene objected to her coming back to work, court documents state.

Maughan spent the 2021-22 school year on administrative leave and her assistant superintendent position was eliminated in May 2022.

Editor’s note: Matthew Nash has family employed and enrolled in Sequim School District.