A 2022 lawsuit stemming from a public school teacher’s reservations about safety protocols for returning to in-person learning during the Covid-19 pandemic — and the resulting defamation she faced from her school’s principal — has finally come to a close, with a city payout of $450,000.
The executed settlement agreement for Jessica Light v. New Haven Board of Education, Margaret-Mary Gethings was signed on Monday. It comes three weeks after the city’s Board of Education approved the settlement.
Jessica Light, a New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) veteran educator of 15 years and former Worthington Hooker elementary school teacher, accused Hooker Principal Margaret-Mary Gethings of defaming her and of violating her state and federally protected right to freedom of speech by criticizing and isolating her after she spoke publicly in 2021 about concerns she had about safety protocols for returning to in-person learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In August 2024, a jury sided with Light and awarded her $1.1 million in damages. A NHPS spokesperson said at the time that the district “vehemently” disagreed with the ruling, and planned to appeal it.
The final agreement includes a payout of $450,000 to Light, who transferred from Worthington Hooker to Ross Woodward three years ago to become that school’s discovery lab STEAM teacher. The agreement also includes restoration of 20 sick days, and release of claims and withdrawal of the lawsuit.
The Board of Education and the city’s Litigation Settlement Committee both approved the new agreement in October. At that time, Light told the Independent that one third of the final settlement payment would be used to pay her lawyer and another third of the total would be taken for taxes. “It was never about the money. It was about being a teacher advocate,” Light said.
This new settlement resolves the federal court case entirely.
The final amount came as a result of a full-day mediation with United States Magistrate Judge Robert A. Richardson, according to city spokesperson Lenny Speiller in October, following a ruling from the trial judge reducing the jury verdict and ordering a new trial on one of the counts. “Once final, the settlement will resolve all outstanding claims that Ms. Light has against all defendants and any pending litigation would be dismissed,” Speiller said in a statement at the time.