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Iowa school district reaches $350,000 lawsuit settlement

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August 10th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines Public Schools and its insurance company will pay a former superintendent $350,000 to settle a lawsuit over sexually explicit emails sent by the superintendent. District spokeswoman Amanda Lewis said Monday that the district expected to win the lawsuit filed by Nancy Sebring, but its insurance company wanted to settle to avoid additional litigation expenses. Attorneys for Sebring say they’re satisfied with the settlement.

Sebring filed a lawsuit after sexually explicit emails sent from her district-issued email account and electronics were made public in May 2012. Sebring’s invasion-of-privacy lawsuit argued the emails were personal and not subject to Iowa’s open records laws. The district said they were public records. Half the settlement money will go to Sebring’s attorneys. The district’s insurance company will pay the majority of the costs.