Long Island School District Approves $16.5M In Child Victim Act Settlements
PORT JEFFERSON, NY — The Port Jefferson Board of Education on Friday approved settlement agreements with all seven plaintiffs in its Child Victims Act cases for $16.5 million, school officials said in a statement on the district's website .
Confidentiality clauses prohibit the district and the plaintiffs from discussing specifics of any individual case, according to officials.
The district could not secure any insurance coverage for these claims, officials said.
Instead, the amount will be paid through a combination of debt financing and monies from existing district reserve funds, which will mitigate "the overall financial impact on the community," according to officials.
The Child Victims Act extended the statute of limitations, allowing adult survivors of sexual abuse to file claims and seek compensation.
"We believe resolution of these cases represents the best outcome for the district and avoids possible greater impact to our students and taxpayers," the statement read. "The board's decision to accept these settlement agreements, made on the advice of counsel and after lengthy deliberations and discussion, eliminated the potential of protracted trial litigation which involves inherent risk and could have resulted in significantly greater overall costs to the district."
Officials said the district is committed to the safety and well-being of students.
"We take our responsibility very seriously to provide our students with a learning environment that is nurturing and free of any form of harassment whatsoever," the statement continued. "It is important to note that these claims were for incidents that occurred 45 or more years ago."
"However, we understand that we must remain vigilant and continue our training of all staff in the recognition of and reporting of any signs of abuse or sexual harassment," the statement read.
"We thank you for your understanding during this process and continued support of our students and the Port Jefferson School District," the statement concluded.
