School Board settles discrimination case

SARASOTA — After weeks of talks behind closed doors, the Sarasota County School Board settled a four-year-long discrimination case levied against them by the husband of a district employee who died in 2021.

Within the $300,000 settlement, a confidentiality clause banning the plaintiff from speaking to media about the settlement was also outlined.

"Representative Beal and Craig Beal agree not to post the existence of this Agreement and the terms and conditions hereof on social media nor seek out interviews with any member of the press or media," the settlement states.

The agreement comes years after Craig Beal advocated for his wife, Elsa, whose civil rights were allegedly violated multiple times by district management.

In 2020, Elsa Beal, a Hispanic employee of Sarasota County Schools, filed a discrimination case against the School Board after she allegedly suffered nearly four years of racially motivated harassment by her superiors.

Among the allegations were Hispanic employees being prohibited from speaking Spanish at work, the falsifying of Beal’s work experience to disqualify her from promotions, and repeated threats to her livelihood.

When Beal died in late 2021, her husband, Craig, kept the case going by filing a demand for trial by jury on April 27, 2023.

After the School Board worked through the 22-page lawsuit last month, a settlement release agreement was finally reached and signed on Aug. 12 by Craig Beal.

The representative for Elsa Beal also agreed to not discuss the release agreement or any claim alleged in the lawsuit — which included six alleged violations of the Florida Civil Rights Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and fraud — in any form of communication with anyone under the intent to gain more compensation from the School Board.

According to the agreement, the School Board "vigorously defended and denied any and all allegations of wrongdoing" throughout the lawsuit, which had reached state district court.

The School Board chose to settle "solely to avoid the time, expense and uncertainty of continued litigation," the document reads, not to admitting any liability or wrongdoing from them or Elsa Beal's superiors.

The $300,000 payout does not cover the Beals' litigation costs, the agreement stated, as each party agreed to cover their own attorneys’ fees and costs.

Craig Beal will continue to be an employee of the district, according to the settlement agreement.

In the "Release by Craig Beal" section, the release agreement stated Beal is to be treated with the "same rights and privileges as any other employee of School Board" and will continue his employment "no better and no worse off" than if the lawsuit were still ongoing.