School district settles strip search lawsuit with 8 of 10 girls

Eight of the ten junior high girls who claimed they were strip-searched in January have agreed to a settlement with the Poplar Bluff School District. As part of that settlement, the attorneys for both parties agreed to issue a public statement.

The other two girls and their families did not agree to the settlement and are pursuing the matter further.

The statement reads in part: "The school administration regrets giving a false impression that the incident either did not happen or was blown out of proportion, and has acknowledged that the incident did occur as a part of settling the claims of eight of the girls involved."

Superintendent Randy Winston said it's important for people to note that no one from the school district signed that statement, rather it is signed by the attorney for the district's insurance company, Thomas A. Mickes.

"This settlement was a conclusion of the two attorneys involved. Really the school had no input into it," Winston said. "I'm glad that it's now come to a conclusion and we can get on to the education of the students, which is our main focus."

In addition to issuing that public statement, the girls each received $7,500, plus attorney fees.

The incident happened during the fifth period gym class after $55 was discovered missing from a teacher's desk. Ten girls were individually searched but none were found with the money. Exactly how those searches were conducted, however, became the bigger controversy.

At the time, school officials maintained that the searches stopped short of checking the girls' bags, patting them down, emptying their pockets and removing any exterior articles of clothing, like coats and shoes.

The girls, on the other hand, came home with very different stories. One of the girls was interviewed immediately following the incident. She said that she was sent to the nurse's office where she was told to remove her shirt, pull her bra away from her body, pull down her pants and pull her underwear out.

Assistant principal Mike Ivie, the school's security officer and the P.E. teachers were present when the initial searches took place.

Money not issue

Dona Hulan, whose daughter was among those searched, said she is not completely satisfied with the settlement.

"The money is not the issue. We feel the school board let us down because they are supposed to be there for the students -- not only these girls but the other students," Hulan said. "They renewed Mr. Ivie's contract and he was completely in the wrong to do it. As far as we are concerned, he way overstepped his bounds."

Mark Kennedy, attorney for the girls and their families, said even though a settlement has been agreed to, some of the parents were considering filing a criminal complaint.

"The school district made a statement that the facts were exaggerated and as a result, a lot of the girls have been called liars," Kennedy said. "It's been a long drawn out negotiation process for the girls ... felt it was better to put it behind them."