Jul 1, 2013 2 min read

NEW EAGLE – Ringgold School District has agreed to pay $90,000 to settle a federal age discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by a math teacher who claimed she was denied opportunities afforded to her younger colleagues.

The district’s insurance carrier will cover the settlement with Kathleen Pitzer of Eighty Four, who agreed to permanently withdraw her lawsuit under the terms of the settlement.

The school board approved the settlement in March, keeping the terms a secret until the Observer-Reporter obtained it last week under a right-to-know request.

Pitzer initially complained to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2010 that she had been denied opportunities and technology given to younger teachers after her return from a sabbatical. The former math teacher also complained she was fired in 2009 after an investigation into a minor incident in her classroom.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court with the blessing of the EEOC.

The $90,000 settlement shouldn’t be “construed to be an admission” by Ringgold that it violated any state or federal laws in the Pitzer case, the settlement states. The district further denied liability, but settled the case for what it called economic reasons.

Pitzer, who has since retired from Ringgold, agreed to never seek employment in the district in any capacity.

The settlement also includes a confidentiality clause prohibiting all parties in the case from discussing the settlement.