Board racks up $163K in legal fight against ex-teacher

The South Shore Regional School Board hasracked up $163,000 in legal fees in its fight to keep aformer teacher who was convicted of indecent acts out of the classroom, CBC News has learned.

That amount is in additionto more than $200,000 the South Shore Regional School Board agreed topay PeterSpeight as part of a settlement agreement reached last week.

Speight, a teacher at New Germany Elementary School, was fired in 2009 after he pleaded guilty to willfully engaging in indecent acts. Police said Speight would call women to his car while he exposed himself. In each case the women fled and he did not pursue them.

He was given a conditional discharge, which means he has no criminal record.

TheSouth Shore Regional School Boardfired Speight almost immediately andthe Department of Education took away his teaching certificate.

Speight challenged his dismissal during an eight-day arbitration hearing and the arbitrator overturned the dismissal and imposed a one-year suspension instead. The board sought a judicial review of that ruling in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, but lost its appeal.

Province to reimburse half the legal bills

The South Shore Regional School Boardsaid the legal bills for the arbitration hearing totalled $116,000. The costs for the judicial hearing were approximately $47,000.

Last week, Speight reached a settlement deal that will see him resign and give up his efforts to have his Nova Scotia teaching certificate reinstated. That agreement means Speight will never be allowed to teach again in the province, although he will be free to apply for teaching jobs elsewhere.

The settlement with Speight came after angry parents in New Germany threatened to pull their children out of school if Speight was allowed back in the classroom.

A spokeswoman for the South Shore Regional School Board said the provincial government was involved in the settlement negotiations and has agreed to payfor a portion of the more than $200,000 that will be paid to Speight, though theyare still working out thedetails of the cost-sharing agreement.

Trish Smith also told CBC News the province will reimburse the boardfor $81,500,half of the$163,000 total the board incurred during the arbitration process andjudicial review of that ruling.