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4-H lawsuit settlement made public

September 03, 2009|By TODD KLEFFMAN

LIBERTY — A former Casey County 4-H agent has settled her whistleblower's lawsuit with the local extension board, ending a dispute that stretched out for five years.

Jan Atwood, who worked as the extension office's 4-H youth development agent, received a $15,000 settlement in her lawsuit claiming she lost her job at the office in retaliation for reporting misconduct by the local board.

A confidential settlement between the two parties was reached in July, but Casey Circuit Judge James Weddle ordered that the agreement had to be made public. The terms of the settlement were filed in court records last month.

"The Casey County Extension District Board is financed by public money and the general public has a right to know how public money is spent. Therefore, any settlement must be made public," Weddle wrote. The judge also forced the settlement in a bullying lawsuit filed by former high school students against the Casey County Board of Education to be made public last year for the same reason.

Atwood had previously won a $46,000 settlement from the University of Kentucky, which oversees extension offices throughout the state, in the same case.

In her lawsuit, Atwood sought protection under the state's Whistleblower's Act and maintained that the board eliminated her position, claiming a budget shortfall, but in reality wanted to get rid of her because she reported violations committed by the local office to UK extension officials.

Atwood charged that the board kept a secret savings account that it did not report in its annual budget, violated the state's Open Records and Open Meetings laws, took action without a quorum present and other violations.

In the settlement, the local extension office does not admit to any wrongdoing, but agrees that a portion of the $15,000 Atwood received is for "compensatory damages for alleged personal injuries."

Both sides agreed not to discuss the case as part of the settlement.

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