WEST MILFORD Local activist Martin O’Shea is going forward with a lawsuit against the school district over whether the terms of a different lawsuit one that has been settled should be kept from the public. In 2003, Kristina Kardinow, who had been employed by the district, filed a suit against the district alleging egregious behavior on the part of a classroom teacher in whose class Kardinow had been assigned as an assistant. Earlier this year, the suit was settled out of court with the insurance company. O’Shea wanted to know the amount of the settlement. He said it was taxpayers’ money and they have a right to know. Starting in April he sent out a flurry of requests for the information. He never got it. He was told there was a confidentiality clause in the agreement by some of the recipients of his requests, while others said they simply didn’t have the information. This week, he filed suit to get the information, saying a judge could decide whether the information belonged to the public. Steven Cea, the business administrator and Vito Gagliardi, the attorney for the district have said from the beginning that it was a nuisance suit brought on by a disgruntled former employee whose contract was not renewed. In May, Cea told the Messenger that the suit was settled as a matter of expediency, as it cost far less than actually going to trial. At that time, Cea said he didn’t know what the settlement was because the insurance company and their attorney had taken care of it. Gagliardi informed the school board of O’Shea’s suit at a meeting Tuesday night. Board member Drew Murray (an attorney himself) said he didn’t understand why the district wouldn’t just give O’Shea the paperwork he was requesting. “This just isn’t the type of case we should go down the tubes on,” he said, referring to the expense of fighting the matter in court. He pointed out that if the agreement was confidential, that was between the insurance company and Kardinow. “So, it’s on our backs?” he asked. After a few minutes of discussion, they decided to talk more on the subject in executive session. After the meeting, however, Gagliardi told the Messenger that the suit had been settled for “$20,000, $23,000, somewhere around there.” When asked why he hadn’t told O’Shea the figure, Gagliardi said that O’Shea’s requests were for the agreement itself, not the figure. He also said that if both parties okayed it, the district would go ahead and release the agreement. In an interview the following day, O’Shea responded, “Cea and Gagliardi are out-and-out lying!” He cited a letter he received dated a few weeks ago which claimed the agreement was “on file under seal.” Who’s seal?” he asked. “Clearly, pressure has been put on the two of them by people who believe the figure should be public.” As of press time, O’Shea had no plans to withdraw the suit. In other business: An emergency pamphlet will be going home to parents soon. It describes the procedures the school will take in the event of various kinds of emergencies. The high school had a lock down last week when a visitor to the school was buzzed in and then failed to report to the office. Superintendent Glenn Kamp said the lockdown went very well and was good practice. The visitor in question turned out to be harmless. The high school will hold its Seventh Annual Military Concert and Tattoo on Saturday night in the high school gym. The board will begin working on the budget process at its next meeting.