Long Beach City College has agreed to pay its former superintendent-president Reagan Romali $2.7 million to settle a retaliation lawsuit that traced back to her firing in 2020, just two days after she was publicly identified as a whistleblower. The deal closes a legal battle that began with Romali seeking $10 million in damages and ends with the college's board of trustees voting 4-0 to approve the payout.
Trustee Uduak-Joe Ntuk recused himself and was absent from the vote because he was named as a defendant in the case, according to the Long Beach Post. The settlement requires Romali to dismiss the lawsuit and remaining defendants with prejudice, meaning she cannot refile the claims, and it releases the claims against Ntuk specifically. Ntuk declined to comment on the settlement, the outlet reported.
Romali was publicly named as a whistleblower on March 2, 2020, and the college fired her two days later, on March 4, per the same account. She filed a claim against the college in 2021 seeking $10 million in damages after her termination, according to a separate lbpost.com report. Her contract initially required employment disputes to go through private arbitration overseen by the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, but her attorney said she was able to withdraw from that process and pursue a civil lawsuit because of late payments tied to the arbitration fees.
What Romali Alleged
Romali alleged that Ntuk and fellow trustee Vivian Malauulu persuaded the board to launch a retaliatory investigation against her after she reported them to the Long Beach Police Department over alleged public corruption, according to the complaint cited by the Long Beach Post. She also alleged that the college and its trustees defamed and blackballed her in ways that damaged her future employment prospects. Earlier reporting from the outlet's coverage of the dispute noted Romali said she became a target for retaliation after filing a 1,000-page whistleblower complaint in September alleging unethical and self-serving dealings by board members.
Malauulu was ultimately dismissed from the lawsuit, per court documents, and both she and Ntuk have denied wrongdoing. LBCC's board had initiated a performance evaluation of Romali, and that evaluation confirmed concerns about her performance, ethics, and ability to work collaboratively, according to a college motion. In a competing account, the college's lawyers wrote that concerns about Romali's employment predated the college's knowledge of her whistleblower complaint.
Legal Costs Mounted During Litigation
The case had grown expensive well before the settlement. LBCC had already spent more than $1 million in legal fees, and the college's lawyers estimated that continued litigation could cost another $1 million, according to a motion dated September 11. That same motion noted the case had already involved 12 depositions.
Romali's attorney, Louis Cohen, said the settlement is the largest single-plaintiff employment-case payout LBCC has made, to his knowledge. Cohen also said the case's public attention made it difficult for Romali to find new employment, and that she hopes to return to the presidency of another college. LBCC spokesperson Stacey Toda acknowledged the settlement's resolution but declined further comment, the Long Beach Post reported.
A Separate, Much Larger Settlement Looms
The Romali payout comes as LBCC faces far bigger financial exposure elsewhere. The college's board of trustees approved a $20 million interfund transfer during its February 2026 meeting to address a separate class-action lawsuit settlement involving part-time faculty and related expenses, according to the LBCC Viking. That settlement remains subject to final court approval, though the full agreement is public and on record with the court.
