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Woodland District 50 settles apparel lawsuit alleging favoritism

Woodland Elementary District 50 has settled its end of a lawsuit claiming a T-shirt company unfairly lost school spirit wear and athletic uniform deals because of favoritism to a school insider.

Former Woodland school board member Kellie Pappas was at the center of the suit filed in April 2016 by Ink'N Tees Inc. of Waukegan. It alleged Pappas used her school connections to steer apparel deals from Ink'N Tees to a company employing her husband, James.

Ink'N Tees attorney C. Jeffrey Thut said Tuesday that the case remains active against James Pappas and his employer, Hat World Inc. Kellie Pappas, also a former Parent Teacher Association officer, was dismissed from the suit as part of the settlement.

Under the agreement, Gurnee-based Woodland will pay $20,000 to Ink'N Tees Inc. In return, Ink'N Tees agreed to drop all claims against Woodland's elected officials, the district's PTA and Kellie Pappas.

Including the settlement, the lawsuit cost District 50 upward of $100,000, spokeswoman Carolyn Waller said.

"The board of education and PTA continue to deny any fault, wrongdoing or responsibility and have permitted their insurance company to settle the case, after it was once previously dismissed by the court, to avoid the costs and demands of continued litigation," District 50 board President Chris Schrantz said.

Citing a confidentiality provision, Thut declined to comment on the settlement or why the case against James Pappas and Hat World continues. James Pappas is a Hat World sales representative handling at least 100 school accounts, the suit says.

That filed an amended complaint in November seeking at least $50,000 on behalf of Ink'N Tees.

Kellie and James Pappas did not return calls seeking comment. Attorney Joel Griswold, who represents Hat World and James Pappas, also did not respond.

Court documents claim Kellie Pappas was the PTA's leader in October 2014 when she met with Ink'N Tees regarding clothing sales for the upcoming year. As of June of that year, Ink'N Tees had a contract with the PTA to be exclusive vendor of T-shirts, hats and other merchandise, court documents say.

The suit alleges that despite indications the PTA would take bids from spirit wear vendors in January 2015, Hat World, operating as Lids Team Sports in Illinois, received the deal.

Kellie Pappas also used her PTA position to interfere with Ink'N Tees' ability to continue selling to District 50, according to the lawsuit. She resigned from the Woodland school board in July 2016 due to a move outside the district.

Ink'N Tees began supplying District 50 with school spirit wear in 2003, according to the suit. The company also supplied athletic team uniforms in 2012, Roar program clothing in 2009, and nonathletic, extracurricular spirit wear in 2005, court documents state.

However, the suit alleges Ink'N Tees' business relationship with Woodland started dissolving when the district agreed to buy athletic uniforms through Lids in 2014 and nonathletic clothing in 2015, when Kellie Pappas led the PTA.

Lids received spirit wear business for the district's Roar program in November 2015 while Kellie Pappas was on the school board, the suit says.

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Former Woodland Elementary District 50 board member Kellie Pappas was part of a lawsuit filed in 2016 by a T-shirt company claiming it unfairly lost school spirit wear and athletic uniform deals.
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