Manatee County School Board to settle public records lawsuit with head of Sarasota Security Patrol

BRADENTON -- The Manatee County School Board may settle a public records lawsuit Tuesday for $12,500.

A settlement agreement between the school board and Sarasota Security Patrol head Chad Ritchie is on the agenda for the meeting.

Ritchie sued the school board Dec. 12, 2014, over an outstanding public records request for board member Dave Miner's work and personal emails. Miner was a vocal critic of hiring Ritchie's company to provide security guards in Manatee County schools.

"This settlement agreement and this payment are made without any admission of liability or wrongdoing by SBMC (School Board of Manatee County) and are made by way of compromise and settlement," the agreement reads.

According to the settlement agreement posted on the Manatee County School District website, the records request has been filled.

The $12,500 number was agreed on to help cover Ritchie's attorney costs. Ritchie has already signed the settlement document.

Once the payment has been received, the lawsuit will be closed.

Ritchie and his lawyer did not return requests for comment about the settlement.

Ritchie's company still has an open lawsuit against the board claiming a breach of contract. A judge has already dismissed the case once, but left the case open to be refiled.

An amended complaint was filed April 16, 2015. The district responded to the amended complaint. The last movement on the case was an April 28, 2015, reply to the district's response to the amended complaint. No further updates have been logged in the court system.

Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter @MeghinDelaney.

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 11:37 PM with the headline "Manatee County School Board to settle public records lawsuit with head of Sarasota Security Patrol ."