Grayslake Dist. 46 pays $49,000 to man who was fired before he worked there
Edward Towle received $49,000 from a settlement of a federal lawsuit he filed against Grayslake Elementary District 46, where he was fired before starting as its business boss in 2010.
Board members on Jan. 4 voted to settle the complaint, but they didn’t provide any details to the public. Towle filed the breach-of-contract lawsuit last May against District 46 in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Documents obtained through a Daily Herald Freedom of Information Act request show Towle signed the four-page agreement Dec. 31. U.S. Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim assisted in the settlement discussions.
Attorney Robert Shumaker of Madison, Wis., who represented Towle, issued a statement regarding the settlement Monday.
“I am pleased that we were able to find a mutually agreeable way to resolve this matter,” Shumaker said. “We appreciate all of the hard work of Magistrate Judge Kim and the representatives of District 46 in finding a way to resolve this matter.”
Towle settled for the $49,000 after originally demanding more than $75,000 in damages in his lawsuit. He was supposed to receive a $98,000 base salary as chief school business official from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011.
Other documents obtained by the newspaper show Chicago-based Scariano, Himes and Petrarca billed $36,030 to District 46 for legal work on the Towle case from June through December.
Superintendent Ellen Correll said District 46 taxpayers won’t be on the hook for the entire $85,030 cost of Towle’s payment and the attorney fees. She said insurance will cover all but a roughly $15,000 deductible.
Correll said while the case was settled to avoid further legal expenses, that was not her preference.
“Personally, I would have liked to have continued to move forward with the whole suit,” she said.
Towle topped about 40 candidates who applied to replace Brad Goldstein as chief school business official. Towle was dumped in May 2010 after District 46 officials learned he had been on paid leave at his previous job at a suburban Milwaukee school system.
Board members hired Towle on April 7, 2010. District 46 officials said Towle never told them during the interview process he was collecting his $107,449 salary to not work at Brown Deer School District for more than a year.
In court documents, District 46 denied Towle’s claim he was fired because of fears about “bad publicity” by Correll and former school board president Mary Garcia after they learned of his Brown Deer status.
Shumaker filed court documents questioning Correll’s suggestion in an email that Towle resign before his start date, perhaps citing problems moving from Wisconsin. Towle contended such an excuse would have been untruthful.
Correll said despite the email being used against the district in Towle’s suit, she stands by her recommendation it would have been better for him to resign than be fired.
“I would do that with anybody to help them,” Correll said. “Everybody is going to decide on whether I did right or wrong.”
Towle remains embroiled in a lawsuit with Brown Deer. He wants unspecified damages, primarily for defamation and breach of contract.
Shumaker said a Wisconsin administrative law judge awarded unemployment compensation to Towle in December 2010. He said it was found Brown Deer placed Towle on the paid leave for 14 months without evidence of wrongdoing.
Brown Deer District Administrator Deb Kerr praised Towle in a letter of recommendation sent to District 46 and did not mention his paid leave status.