by Aaron Brom
ECM Sun Newspapers
The Rogers City Council approved, on the consent agenda with no discussion, a settlement agreement in connection with legal action against the city by Reid Sagehorn.
Sagehorn was a senior at Rogers High School in January 2014 when he filed a federal lawsuit against the Elk River School District, Superintendent Mark Bezek, Rogers Police Chief Jeff Beahen and Rogers Police officer Stephen Sarazin, alleging that his First and 14th Amendment rights were violated.
Sagehorn had been suspended from school for seven weeks after he sent a two-word online message responding to a post suggesting that he had “made out” with a female teacher. He replied, “Actually, yeah.”
He said that he intended the comment to be taken in jest. The post was made outside of school hours, not on school grounds, and did not involve the use of any school property.
School officials suspended Sagehorn and then said they would be recommending that Sagehorn be expelled from school. Sagehorn subsequently withdrew from the school district.
Sagehorn maintained that Beahen “regularly, publicly and intentionally commented to the news media about Sagehorn’s conduct, stating, ‘That’s a crime,’ and adding that Sagehorn ‘could face felony charges’ for the post,” according to an online account of the case.
In the settlement agreement, the defendants denied that “they, the city and its elected officials, employees, agents or representatives engaged in any of the alleged wrongdoing, including, but not limited to, allegations that defendants defamed Sagehorn and violated his constitutional rights.”
The agreement does not release any claims that exist against the school defendants (Independent School District 728, Rogers High School Principal Roman Pierskalla, Bezek and Assistant Superintendent Jana Hennen-Burr).
The Elk River Area School Board met in closed session on Monday to discuss a settlement agreement.
It later approved a settlement agreement and release of all claims
The Board’s decision was based on its insurer’s wishes to resolve the dispute prior to trial in order to avoid the burden and expense of protracted litigation, according to a news release.
The Elk River Area School District will provide a lump sum payment of $325,000 as part of the agreement, and as an inducement for Sagehorn to enter into this agreement.
Sagehorn will receive $40,000 with the rest going to attorneys for the law firm of Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp, LLP.
District 728’s insurer has agreed to cover the entire cost of settlement on its behalf. The Elk River Area School District already paid its $10,000 deductible.
For more details on the settlement, see next week’s Star News.
Rogers will pay Sagehorn’s attorney
The settlement with Rogers stipulates that Sagehorn’s attorney will be paid $100,000 for distribution, and that Sagehorn and his counsel will be entitled to no further claim.
“It is understood and agreed by the parties that this settlement is a compromise of disputed claims, and that neither the settlement nor the presentation or execution of this settlement agreement are to be construed as an admission of unlawful conduct by defendants, First Amendment violation, due process violation, wrongdoing and/or liability,” the agreement said.
As part of the agreement, Sagehorn agreed to either destroy and/or return to his counsel copies of all documents produced by defendants or obtained from defendants.
The city stated that the dispute is being settled “to avoid any and all further costs of litigation, to avoid any and all further risks of litigation and to avoid any potential liability for the claims released.”
A federal district court in Minnesota earlier ruled that Sagehorn had a valid claim for violation of his First Amendment free speech rights against the school district, based on school officials disciplining him for an online comment he posted off-campus about a teacher. The court dismissed the free speech claim against the police defendants.
(Editor’s note: Jim Boyle contributed to this report.)