BRADENTON  — Part of former deputy superintendent Bob Gagnon's multimillion dollar lawsuit against the Manatee School District was tossed out by a judge recently. Similar motions that seek to have the remaining aspects dismissed have yet to come before the court.

Gagnon and his wife have filed suit against both the district and the school board, as well as school board member Karen Carpenter, former school board member Julie Aranibar, former superintendent Rick Mills and former district investigator Troy Pumphrey. The suit claims the party's are responsible for defamation, emotional distress, interference with a contractual relationship and loss of consortium (the legal term for a spouse not being able to perform sexually in a marriage).

The charges against the district, the board and Mills were dismissed in response to a motion, which claimed that Gagnon's suit failed to state a cause of action for each complaint. Similar motions by Carpenter and Aranibar's respective attorneys are still before the court.

Gagnon has the right to amend and refile his complaint. The suit was filed in response to events related to his involvement in the Manatee High sexual abuse scandal. Gagnon, who'd been principal at Manatee and then assistant superintendent of curriculum for the district, was arrested on charges of failing to report child abuse and misleading investigators. He was found not guilty of the former, while the latter charge was dropped.

Attorney John Romano, who represented the plaintiff in the suit, said, "We are going to be refiling an amended complaint and it is my intention to fight this case to the end on behalf of Mr. Gagnon and his family."

Also speaking after dismissal, district attorney Mitch Teitelbaum said, "Any further pleadings on behalf of the plaintiffs will be evaluated on the merits."

Both the district investigation and the criminal trial contained testimony from Manatee High employees who claimed to have made Gagnon aware of concerns over inappropriate behavior by former assistant football coach and parent/teacher liaison Rod Frazier, who would later plead no contest to multiple charges. The judge ruled that based on what could be proven that Gagnon had been told, “no reasonable person could have suspected child abuse.”

An annual contract employee, Mills chose not to renew Gagnon when his contract expired, later saying he never felt that Gagnon was qualified for the position in the first place (Gagnon had been promoted by former Superintendent Tim McGonegal before he resigned in the wake of a financial scandal, in which he acknowledged keeping a multimillion dollar deficit hidden from both the board and the public).

The investigations also shined a light on other questionable aspects of Gagnon's employment while at the district, most notably, two friends who had been promoted to assistant principals at Manatee High, despite questionable qualifications for the positions, and were also arrested on failure to abuse charges, one of whom was found guilty.

The district is currently facing two more lawsuits (having settled one already) related to employees who claim to have been discriminated against by Gagnon after coming forward as whistle blowers in the Frazier case.

Gagnon's suit had asked for financial consideration and/or his old position back. Dr. Diana Greene, who had been hired into a position that replaced Gagnon's was recently promoted to superintendent. The promotion came after Mills' retired from the district after finding himself at perpetual odds with a majority of the board after last November's elections.

related:

Is Curriculum Position a Bargaining Chip in Superintendent Deal?