The 40-million-dollars?
(Originally published on April 22, 2024, edited and updated November 7, 2025.)
A young teacher, who also suffered from depression before the shooting, filed a lawsuit against the school district after she was shot and seriously injured by her first-grade student, who was 6 years old.
It was January 6, 2023.
She survived and sued for $40 million. The jury awarded the amount of $10 million.
There are questions the lawsuit answered. Mainstream media covered this failure to protect.
A grand jury also has indicted the assistant principal, and the mother of the boy has received jail time.
The gun jammed; otherwise, per the Grand Jury report, the teacher may have been killed. The children in the class could have suffered physical injuries in addition to the emotional trauma if the gun had not malfunctioned.
This is not a gun control issue. It is, though, about people not doing their jobs. The testimony revealed the missteps and failures.
The civil court case was decided by a jury on November 6, 2025, but not before the female defense attorney of the vice principal did her best to throw the young teacher under the proverbial bus. Next up is the criminal trial against the vice principal. I hope the defendant gets the "book thrown at her."
It was clear from the testimony that the teacher may not have understood she had the required permission to search the child. But per the chain of command, as many understand it in a school, the staff went to the vice principal. The rest is history.
In 2025, the defense lawyer said "unthinkable" and "unprecedented" in the questioning and closing arguments. She must still be living under a rock.
November 6, 2025
Resources that I use to write.
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40 million dollar failure...The jury thought it was worth 10 million for the teacher. I am happy she won. Her life will never be the same.
Previous links:
https://youtu.be/DHM4mgfw2_w?si=QjA_R4JogzPeC3R4
My book, Stopping School Violence One Teacher's Silent Scream, describes my concerns and actions in 1998.
What would you have done?
Compare and contrast. My principal was a Peter Principal also. It was a struggle to get my coworkers to understand that prevention is worth a pound of cure-- or at least $10 million dollars worth.
Marian R. Carlino
November 7, 2025
April 22, 2024
