LCUSD Will Pay Ethnic Slur Teacher $215,000

will pay $215,000 to the high school teacher who referred to a student as "Jew boy'' and mocked another student's stammer, according to the settlement agreement obtained Tuesday by the La Cañada Valley Sun.

, 59, also will receive medical coverage until the age of 65, no teacher evaluation will be conducted for her this year, and any document referring to the district's initiation of dismissal proceedings will be removed from her personnel file, the article states. 

According to the article, the settlement signed by Leko and Supt. Wendy Sinnette on March 14, includes a $215,000 severance to be paid in three installments during a three-year period, starting this month.

Leko, co-chair of the l math department, agreed last month to retire in June, following because of their gender, ethnic group identification, race and religion.

Last month, in (the District released the terms Tuesday to the Valley Sun following the newspaper's public records request) LCUSD Governing Board President Scott Tracy said, "While this sort of outcome in a personnel matter may not be perfect, the Board unanimously believes that this settlement is fair and best serves the interests of all students, the District, Mrs. Leko, and the community, allowing the District to move forward and focus on the many challenges facing our educational program.''

The settlement puts an end to a bleak chapter in LCUSD history, one in which , fell largely into two camps: those who found her teaching style gruff, but effective, and those who likened her classroom conduct to that of

It was former school board member Cindy Wilcox who shone the light on her , a teacher of 27 years. Wilcox filed the complaint last June, but felt the district failed to move at an acceptable speed for investigating her claims, so she went public in October. Subsequently, both internal and external investigations found Leko to have used inappropriate language in the classroom.