
The Clark County School District (CCSD) has agreed to a collective payout of $12.6 million to settle three separate lawsuits, two of which have drawn widespread public attention due to the misconduct of district employees. Details emerged after the CCSD Board of Trustees sanctioned the settlements on Thursday, signaling a costly reckoning for the incidents that have left an indelible mark on the affected families.
According to KTNV, a portion of the funds, specifically $1 million, addresses the widely reported occurrence at Durango High School in 2023, where a police officer's forceful handling of a student was captured on video and subsequently went viral. The distressing footage showed the officer throwing the student to the ground. In the aftermath, the ACLU, representing the student and their family, pursued legal action culminating in the recent settlement. "We've spent nearly two years seeking justice for our clients and their families on their way to healing and peace," stated the ACLU of Nevada.
In addition, a staggering $9.6 million will be awarded to a family in relation to a harrowing 2015 case—where a school bus driver was accused and later convicted for sexually abusing two special needs children. The reprehensible actions of the driver, Michael Banco, led to a previous payout in this series of events yet did not prevent future harm, as reported by FOX5 Vegas. Banco is currently serving 35 years to life in prison for his crimes, a far cry from the years when these egregious acts were first reported and went unpunished.
The substantial settlements bring to light the district's financial struggles, with a multimillion-dollar deficit already in play due to unforeseen litigation costs. According to a Freedom of Information Act request conducted by FOX5, CCSD has shelled out an estimated $28 million in settlements over the past two years. Expectations for increased fiscal pressure mount, as there are approximately 117 more lawsuits still pending against the district.
In a statement obtained by FOX5 Vegas, Athar Haseebullah, the ACLU of Nevada Executive Director, expressed frustration with the district's actions, saying, "From the inception of this matter, we have sounded the alarm about CCSD’s antics here. Two years and dozens of motions and hearings later, we’ve firmly established that CCSD's original narrative in this matter was a bold-faced lie and that its attempt to hide records was done intentionally to hide the egregious misconduct of its own police department from the public. If CCSD continues to engage in misconduct, we will continue to sue them." With the settlements now approved, the families impacted by these traumatic events may find a degree of closure, though the strain on the district's resources seems far from resolved.