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.