Mount Vernon School District settles public records lawsuit

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. – The Mount Vernon School District has settled a lawsuit that claims it violated Washington state public records laws.

The Skagit Valley Herald reports the district agreed to pay Eric Hood of Langley $12,500.

District Superintendent Carl Bruner says the settlement was less expensive than paying attorney’s fees.

Hood’s lawsuit was filed in Skagit County Superior Court in November. It claims the district didn’t comply with his emailed public records request within the time allowed by state law.

The district says his request was sent to an old email address for Bruner, and was rerouted to the district’s spam folder.

The lawsuit was the latest in at least two dozen similar lawsuits filed by Hood against school districts throughout the state since 2012, according to court records.

The district is the second Skagit County school district to have settled a lawsuit with Hood.