The Bedford County School Board has reduced the price tag on its lawsuit against a parent from $600,000 to just $1.
The school board sued David Rife for damages of $600,000 in late March, alleging he used crude language and threatened police and legal action during repeated calls to the school district about his son.
Rife’s son, who attends Staunton River High School, is on an individualized education program for a learning disability, but Rife has claimed repeatedly over the course of several years that his son wasn’t receiving the services outlined in his plan.
“We recently filed a lawsuit against a parent with the single goal of enforcing a communication plan drafted to ensure appropriate communication with our educators,” the school board said Wednesday in a statement sent by its attorney, Matthew Green of Sands Anderson PC. “The lawsuit was never about collecting money from the parent.”
The statement went on to say that while the lawsuit remains active, the board has instructed its attorney to reduce the “monetary component” of the lawsuit “as a measure of good faith.” If the parent adheres to the communication plan that the parent has now agreed to sign, “we intend to dismiss the lawsuit,” the statement said.
The announcement came on the same day that an initial hearing in the case was scheduled in Bedford County Circuit Court. But a news release from Rife’s attorney, David Whitehurst, late Tuesday said the hearing had been canceled. “Both parties have worked to find a mutually beneficial way to promote positive communication and believe they have found a way to move forward in working together towards the best interest of the student involved,” the release said.
Whitehurst did not return a phone call Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the school division did not respond to a phone call or email sent Wednesday. An email to school board chair Marcus Hill was met with an auto-response message saying that he may not be able to respond to all emails, but could also be reached by phone. That number went straight to voicemail, and the mailbox was full.