A decision was made Monday night on a response to the latest settlement demand in a case against the Kingfisher school district.

That decision just wasn’t made public.

“I move that the board of education authorize its attorneys to take all necessary actions to respond to the plaintiff’s settlement offer consistent with the board of education’s discussion in executive session.”

That motion was made by Kingfisher Board of Education member Brad Wittrock after an executive session that lasted about one hour and 40 minutes.

Carly Franks seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

It was made during the board’s regular May meeting and was in response to a 13-page correspondence sent to board members, Superintendent David Glover and the school district’s attorneys from attorneys for John Doe No. 1.

The letter was dated April 26 and included a pair of settlement demands.

The first was the firing of head football coach Jeff Myers and a payment of $5 million to the plaintiff. In exchange, the plaintiff would settle the suit against the district and release all his claims against the defendants.

That demand was given a 14-day window.

If not accepted, the sum of money doubles to $10 million with other stipulations still in place. That prompted the board of education to include an item to discuss the settlement offer in executive session.

Eric Janzen with Rosenstein, Fist & Ringold, the district’s attorneys in this case, joined board members Wittrock, Franks, Dana Golbek, Terry Payne and President Charles Walker in executive session.

He left the meeting after about 55 minutes, though board members remained in executive session for just over 45 more minutes. ( Ed. note: The board had several personnel moves to discuss during the closed session as well.)

When the board returned, Wittrock offered the motion.

The move was made in front of more than 50 extra onlookers.

The meeting began at the Board of Education Office, but members voted to move it to the KHS cafeteria to fit the expected crowd.

That crowd included football team members, parents, faculty, various citizens and representatives of multiple Oklahoma City television stations as well as reporters from The Oklahoman and The Enid News & Eagle.

After the meeting, board members and Glover declined any comment to the media members.

Walker did confirm to The Times & Free Press that board members instructed their attorney in executive session to provide their response to the necessary parties involved in the case.

In another agenda item after the executive session, the board voted to rehire a list of certified personnel within the district for the 2023-24 school year. Myers’ name was on that list.

This is the second time in just over a year the board of education has discussed a settlement offer in the case.

The board unanimously rejected a $1.5 million settlement offer last March.

The district, Myers, football assistant Derek Patterson and former assistants Blake Eaton and Micah Nall are named in the suit filed by Doe, a 2021 KHS graduate, in July 2021.

The case was originally filed in Kingfisher County District Court, but has been moved to federal court.

If settlement demands aren’t met, Doe’s attorneys said in the letter they will take the case to trial “where we fully expect a jury to award a verdict well into eight figures.”

The trial is currently set to begin in September.

Doe’s attorneys recently filed a motion to compel, stating they had evidence of bullying and multiple forms of abuse within the football program dating back to 2008 and requested the relevant time frame in the case be extended.