Is district doing all | McDougall LawFirm, LLC

The Boys & Girls Club of the Lowcountry settled lawsuits for about $2.4 million last month with six former elementary school students who were molested by a teacher, bringing the total settlement, which includes the Beaufort County School District's share, to about $7 million, school district officials said this week.
Former Coosa Elementary School music teacher Phillip Underwood-Sheppard pleaded guilty to molesting at least nine students, ages 6 to 13, some of them at an after-school program hosted by the Boys & Girls Club of the Lowcountry at the school. Underwood-Sheppard was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2003.
Details of the case have been sealed under court order to protect the identities of the victims. The school district announced last month it had settled with the same six students for $4.6 million.
Jean Washington, executive director of Boys & Girls Club of the Lowcountry, declined to comment and forwarded all calls to Lady's Island attorney Robert Achurch, who did not return calls to his home and office Tuesday and Wednesday.
Reading from a detailed memo by three district attorneys, school board Chairman Fred Washington Jr. recapped the course of the settlement to the Beaufort County Council on Monday.
"Hurt is hurt no matter who's involved with it," he said Wednesday. "We empathize with those children and their families. But this is not a time to be (throwing) any stones."
The chairman did acknowledge, however, that the school district's desire in February to boot the club from Coosa Elementary was a product of the fallout related to the Underwood-Sheppard case.
Former interim Superintendent Phillip McDaniel had told the board that the administration had been unhappy with the number of supervisors -- sometimes as few as two -- overseeing the 170 or so students who went to the club after school. Leadership at the branch turned over often as well, he said, making it more difficult to communicate.
The district hired a risk manager to oversee safety and insurance issues at the end of 2003 following the incidents. It also placed additional restrictions on organizations using district property for after-school programs, among a host of other safety improvements, according to the memo.
Shortly thereafter, the club improved supervision at the club and met other district requirements and has been allowed to continue operating at the school, Chairman Washington said.

7-26-07 The Beaufort Gazette: Boys & Girls club settles 'doe cases' for $2.4 million

Contact Our Firm

Office Location