Payday for lawyers bigger than Ployhar and Davis

Melissa J. Ployhar of Deer Chase Drive and Shirley Ann Davis of Lightsey Road in St. Augustine, have won School Board approval for a $140,000 payday; however, their cut is only reported to be about $15,000 and the satisfaction that the Diamond Rio song “In God We Still Trust” will not be performed at Webster School in the future.

The difference of the settlement, which will be paid by the school district’s liability insurance carrier, will be used to pay attorney’s fees and expenses related to the lawsuit, according to a published quote from Davis.

There will be no permanent injunction or admissions of liability from the School District.

On advice of legal counsel, School Board members voted unanimously at their meeting yesterday to accept the settlement measure.

After the vote, School Board member Tommy Allen said, “I have to accept it, but I accept it with concern” expressing disappointment that we are living in such a litigious society. Allen told reporters that he finds it troubling that we have to function in fear of a lawsuit.

Both Ployhar and Davis say that they didn’t file the lawsuit for the money. However, in a statement from Superintendant Joseph Joyner that appeared on the School District website, “Even though the district complied with the parents’ requests, they continued with the lawsuit seeking monetary compensation.”

The song has not been practiced in any St. Johns County school since the complaint was made at The Webster School last spring.

“Like any other complaint we receive, we responded quickly and appropriately,” Joyner said. “By immediately canceling rehearsals and removing the song from the program, the school district showed its willingness to accommodate the parents’ concerns. This all occurred before we were even aware of the lawsuit.”

A second song, “Chatter with the Angels,” which is part of the state-approved music curriculum, was added to the lawsuit but the settlement does not prevent its future performance.

Possibly out of an abundance of caution, “Chatter with the Angels” is not currently performed in district schools.