By Jennifer Moody, Albany Democrat-Herald | Posted: Thursday, November 5, 2009 11:40 pm
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LEBANON - The Lebanon School Board on Thursday gave Superintendent
Rob Hess authority to resolve two lingering disputes, a lawsuit and
a construction complaint filed by the Lebanon Community School
District.
The complaint involved the roof at Riverview School, which began to
leak shortly after the school was completed in 2002. The
contractor, Lease Crutcher Lewis of Portland, came to an agreement
with the Lebanon district to make the repairs, which were completed
this summer at no cost to the district.
The roof no longer leaks, Hess said. "Now we're just signing off on
it being fixed."
The lawsuit, which the Lebanon district filed in 2007, had to do
with an insurance "pool" first proposed two years earlier.
Lebanon and the Grants Pass School District were the only districts
to take part in the program, which was proposed by Western
Insurance and the Linn-Benton-Lincoln Education Service
District.
Grants Pass backed out of the proposal after the state insurance
board told the district it must pool its assets with Lebanon or be
out of compliance with the insurance code. District officials said
at the time the pullout left Lebanon with more than $500,000 in
insurance claims above its premium, a total that quickly grew to
$804,000.
The district was able to keep employees covered by signing on with
the district's former provider, and to cover losses by using
contingency funds and postponing some planned budget
transfers.
Lebanon officials allege the district was misinformed about the
cost, coverage and risks of the program, and sued both the
insurance company and the ESD for the negligence, negligent
misrepresentation and breach of duty.
Hess said the district received a total settlement this summer of
$435,000. All that's left, he said, is to resolve the issue with
Grants Pass, which is what board members on Thursday authorized him
to do.
