Teacher gets $150K settlement from CCSD after spat with school board member

The Clark County School District reached a $150,000 settlement last month with a teacher who was investigated after engaging in a series of heated social media exchanges with a School Board candidate who was later elected.

Brett Gilman, a reading teacher at Garside Junior High School, filed a lawsuit in February in District Court. The district filed a petition in March to move the case to U.S. District Court.

Gilman expressed criticism via social media of then-School Board candidate Katie Williams and her qualifications.

A series of exchanges — which “escalated to vitriolic insults on both sides” — began in summer 2020 on Twitter, the social media platform now called X, the complaint said.

“I’ve written some things I’m not proud of,” Gilman said Tuesday. “I’ll be the first to admit that.”

But “it was still protected speech,” he said, also alleging that he has never threatened anyone.

Gilman said he writes from “the left side of the fence” and Williams is on the right.

“We’re naturally oil and vinegar,” he said, adding that things spun out of control. Williams shows no signs of remorse, he added.

Williams — who has faced past criticism over her social media posts — was elected to the School Board in November 2020 and was sworn in January 2021.

In the lawsuit, Gilman alleged “an impermissible suppression” of his political speech after he was placed on home assignment, and his social media posts were investigated by the district and its police department.

Gilman said Tuesday about the settlement: “I’m glad to put the whole affair behind me.”

The district did not admit responsibility or liability, he said, “but for some reason, they cut me a check.”

The district said Monday the lawsuit was settled on Sept. 20 for $150,000, but it provided no further comment.

A school district regulation requires any settlement that exceeds $150,000 to come to the School Board for action.

Gilman said he’s glad the district wasn’t able to bury the matter by capping the settlement amount.

He said he thinks it was a tactic to avoid having to go in front of the school board and “starting another crazy school board fight.”

Williams provided a statement Monday to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, saying it’s her own thoughts and opinions. She also said that Gilman sued the school district, not her as an individual.

“I think with cases like this it speaks to the bullying we see from the public consistently that’s created by having a privileged life,” Williams wrote. “Bullying someone all day and then getting upset when they defend themselves by crying foul and not dealing with the consequences for their actions is disappointing.”

“This man is an adult who teaches children in our district,” she wrote. “Who runs a page and column on criticizing elected politicians at every level. At one point or another you have to ask yourself where the values may lie with this individual when he’s teaching children.”

Home assignment

After taking office, Williams posted a video on Instagram allegedly threatening to go after Gilman and “any other teacher who happens to hate (her) guts,” according to the complaint.

Gilman was placed on home assignment in February 2021 and returned to in-classroom teaching in August 2021, the complaint said.

Gilman said that being investigated and placed on home assignment caused him a lot of humiliation, anxiety and stress.

He said he wasn’t allowed to have contact with students, staff or parents while on home assignment. A long-term substitute teacher covered his classes, but he continued to do lesson planning and grading.

Gilman said he found out that the district had put in a request for a long-term substitute for another semester.

He said his attorney sent a complaint to the district and he received a call from a school administrator welcoming him back shortly thereafter.

Gilman said he plans to retire after the 2024-25 school year.

Exchanges between Williams and Gilman have continued on X, with some posts as recent as this week.

But Gilman said Tuesday he doesn’t plan to engage with Williams ever again. And he said he’s considering blocking her on X, which isn’t his normal policy since he has a large number of followers and monetizes content.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on X.