Union City School District To Pay Over Racial Harassment Claims
UNION CITY (CBS/AP) -- A Union City school district has agreed to pay $725,000 to settle a lawsuit by African-American students who said school officials failed to protect them from racial harassment and violence.
Pamela Price, a lawyer for the 12 students and their families, announced the settlement with the New Haven Unified School District on Thursday.
School spokesman Rick La Plante said the district did not acknowledge any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
The suit claimed that the district ignored complaints that members of a mostly Latino gang were coming onto campuses and attacking black students. It cited the 2007 death of Vernon Eddins, a student who was shot to death on the steps of a middle school.
Police have described his attackers as young Latino men. No arrests have been made.
(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services may have contributed to this report.)
