Kingfisher Board of Education approved a $5 million payout to a former football player, along with other stipulations, to settle a federal lawsuit pending against Kingfisher Public Schools and multiple coaches, Superintendent David Glover confirmed with the Times & Free Press on Thursday morning.

The district reached an agreement with Mason Mecklenburg to end the lawsuit, which was scheduled for jury trial Dec. 5 in federal district court in Oklahoma City.

“The decision to settle was from the advice of our counsel,” Glover said. “There were a number of factors that went into the decision by our board, but it was decided that the risk to our school system and to our patrons was too great to gamble on a jury trial that our attorneys just did not think we could win.”

The board of education met in executive session for more than four hours over the span of eight days in two separate meetings. The most recent was last Monday, a special meeting that lasted about 90 minutes.

Afterward, the board voted to authorize “the district’s legal counsel to take such action(s) consistent with the discussions” in the executive session.

By Wednesday afternoon, an agreement had been reached, Glover said.

“Mason Mecklenburg is pleased to have reached an agreement in principle that will allow everyone involved to move forward,” said Ross Leonoudakis of Oklahoma City law firm Nix Patterson LLP, co-counsel for Mecklenburg in the case. “Final documents are being prepared and will be filed with the court shortly.”

The board is expected to offiicially vote to approve exact settlement details at its December regular meeting.

The district was represented in the case by Tulsa-based law firm Rosenstein, Fist & Ringold.

Head football coach Jeff Myers was being represented by Joe E. White, Jr. of White & Weddle, P.C.

White, whose legal fees were also paid by the school district, sought to push forward with the trial.

“The settlement is distressing and unfortunate on many levels because it sets a precedent for individuals to use social and news media as a conduit to present false information as a means of pressuring and intimidating an organization to settle,” White told the Times & Free Press.

“If KPS had seen this case through in a court of law much of this information might have been thrown out on its face.”

Glover said the decision to settle came down to ensuring the school district stood on solid financial footing for its current staff and students.

“Our settlement is in no way an admission of liability, but it recognizes that the students, the school, the community come first and resolving this lawsuit and returning our focus to education was of upmost importance,” Glover said.

“Due to factors beyond the administration’s control, this lawsuit was not covered by liability insurance. Our settlement decision was reached to protect the uninsured district from a potential loss the local taxpayers could not bear.”

Glover told the Times & Free Press that $1.25 million of the agreed settlement will be paid within 90 days from the school district’s general fund.

The remaining $3.75 million will be paid from the school’s sinking fund over the next three years, which means property owners within the district will pick up the tab in the form of additional ad valorem taxes.

The district was forced to foot the bill for the lawsuit, including legal fees for the district and each of the named coaches, because its insurance carrier at the time of the alleged incidents, Oklahoma Schools Risk Management Trust, became insolvent before the lawsuit was filed. Even if the policy had still been active, the claim likely would not have been covered due to the nature of the allegations.

The district’s current insurance carrier also denied coverage because its policy was not in effect until after the incidents alleged in the lawsuit.

According to school records, the district has been billed $1,356,373.95 in legal fees through Thursday. As attorneys continue working to finalize the settlement agreement, additional fees may be charged.

Mecklenburg filed the suitinJuly2021,twomonths after graduating from Kingfisher High School.

He alleged a culture of hazing, bullying and various forms of abuse within the football program during his four years.

Named along with KPS and Myers were assistant coach Derek Patterson and former assistant coaches Blake Eaton and Micah Nall.

Multiple settlement demands were made by Mecklenburg through his attorneys, beginning in March 2022. Dollar amounts escalated, but the demands all required that Myers be fired as football coach.

Glover said Thursday he couldn’t comment on personnel issues regarding Myers’ future as head football coach at this time.

Myers is currently on administrative leave pending the outcome of a criminal felony charge of child neglect that was filed last month in Kingfisher County District Court.

That charge came on the heels of an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation that stemmed from the allegations in the civil suit. He has pleaded innocent to the charge.

His next court appearance is Jan. 2, 2024, in that case, which is a separate matter from the federal civil lawsuit and is not a part of the settlement agreement.

Regardless of the outcome of the criminal case, White said the settlement won’t give Myers an opportunity to rebut the allegations in the civil case.

“My client and the citizens of Kingfisher are the true victims here. My client will never get a chance to clear his name in a court of law where social media click bait is countered by actual evidence under the rules of law,” White said.

“Now, the patrons of Kingfisher school district will be paying the Mecklenburgs and their attorney nearly $5 million without the benefit of a trial or a verdict in their favor.”

Among the other stipulations in the settlement, KPS will provide yearly training for all employees on recognizing and reporting abuse, hazing and bullying.

“We already are doing this, but they also stipulate that it needs to be verified by a third party such as the Oklahoma State School Boards Association,” Glover said.

Glover noted the school rejected Mecklenburg’s original settlement offer of $1.5 million in March 2022.

That offer was only for the school district and would not have shielded the coaches from individual liability.

Mecklenburg later pushed the settlement demand to $5 million and then $10 million. The two sides took part in multiple settlement discussions prior to last week’s decision.

“Attempts were made to settle on two different occasions in the last year and a half, but the plaintiff was not interested in working with us to find a middle ground,” Glover said.

“On each of those settlement conferences, the amount that was being asked by the plaintiff to settle was not one that our board felt was doable. As a matter of fact, it was a number that was very high in comparison to what ultimately was agreed upon.”

The current agreement settles all claims against the coaches as well as the district.

It also removes the possibility of Mecklenburg seeking punitive damages from the district or the coaches, additional penalties allowed by state law which can range from $500,000 to twice the amount of actual damages.

In a financial summary presented to the board at the Nov. 6 regular meeting, it showed KPS having just over $5 million in its general fund.

Glover said he expects inquiries as to why projects such as artificial turf installation and a concession stand/restroom remodel at the football/soccer field, a soccer/junior high football locker room, artificial turf installation at the softball field, an addition to the ag barn and the first phase of a four-phase remodel of Gilmour Elementary School were pushed through despite the pending litigation.

“Simply put, there are 1,400 students in this school system that deserve to know that their school stood beside them and wanted the best for them,” Glover said.

“All of the noise of this lawsuit was putting a bad taste in the mouth of everyone associated with this community and even though it was hurting us financially with attorneys’ fees, both myself along with our board of education wanted our community and more importantly our students to know we wanted the best for them.”

Glover said that ultimately led to the settlement agreement.

“In short, there were no winners in this situation. Ultimately, the students were the ones that this was hurting financially as well as our staff. We have a great group of teachers and student body that live in a model community.

“This lawsuit forced the district to take its focus off education of students and on outside, non-education- related issues. By concluding the lawsuit, we hope to improve district morale and to improve employee and educator retention. We believe the lawsuit has gone on too long and believe settlement was in the best interest of not only the district, but of the community as well.

“It is time we all heal and move forward.”