School Lawsuit Dismissed

The Springs School District will not pay damages to a former clerical employee, Liz Tatiana Tucci, following the conclusion of a lawsuit she filed in December 2015.

Ms. Tucci, a native of Colombia who worked at the school between October 2006 and September 2015, charged that she had suffered “harassment, disparate treatment, and discrimination‚“ based on her race and national origin. She was seeking lost compensation and punitive damages for the way she was treated, which she said caused panic attacks and other physical problems.

 “It’s very sad,” she told The Star in January 2016. “I used to visualize my retirement in Springs because I really liked being there besides the stuff that went on. I said if I stayed there things would get better, and I would make a difference. But it never got better. It got worse.”

Following a trial at Central Islip District Court and a jury verdict on June 23, it was ordered that Ms. Tucci “take nothing of the defendants, Springs Union Free School District and the Board of Education of the Springs Union Free School District, and that this action be dismissed on these merits