Why is Tumwater’s school board president allegedly seeking $1M from the district?

No one has said why Tumwater School Board President Casey Taylor allegedly filed a $1 million tort claim against the district, but public records suggest the claim accuses a nonbinary teacher of trying to exclude a student from their classroom.

The Olympian previously reported that two Tumwater board members raised concerns at a Dec. 4 board meeting about Casey Taylor serving as president while he allegedly had a $1 million tort claim against the district. The district declined to share specifics about the claim with The Olympian, and Taylor and other board members did not respond in December to The Olympian’s requests for comment.

The OIympian filed a public records request for a copy of the tort claim referenced at the Dec. 4 meeting and received a copy of the claim on Feb. 13 with names redacted.

The claim seeks damages of $1.15 million, with the “right to amend reserved,” according to the document. Broken down, it asks for $285,000 for private school tuition, fees and transportation through 2031; $400,000 for “emotional distress and loss of educational opportunity;” $250,000 for “emotional distress and loss of consortium;” and $215,000 for “retaliation/chilling of protected speech and votes.”

The Olympian could not immediately reach Taylor for comment regarding the claim and to confirm he and his family are the claimants.

Tort claims filed in Washington start a 60-day clock, after which the claimant can file a lawsuit against a government or public agency. The claim against the school district is dated Nov. 26. It doesn’t list an attorney. The Olympian’s search of Thurston County and federal court records Wednesday didn’t show that a lawsuit has been filed.

The claim appears to allege that a nonbinary teacher attempted to exclude a student from their classroom, and that they requested a policy to exclude “families perceived unsupportive of LGBTQIA+ identities.” The claim points to a board member and their family being involved.

When asked for context and clarification, district spokesperson Laurie Wiedenmeyer said Feb. 18 that she is unable to provide comments on active or ongoing litigation, “including details contained in or inferred from a tort claim.”

“Because this matter involves a student, federal privacy laws (FERPA) protect their personally identifiable information,” she said. “We will restate our commitment to maintaining a learning and work environment that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive for all students and staff.”

Board members Melissa Beard and Julie Watts, who voiced concerns about the tort claim and a potential conflict of interest with Taylor becoming board president at the Dec. 4 meeting, also told The Olympian they were unable to share any more information regarding the situation.

There are five allegations in the claim that appear to be against the teacher, whose name has been redacted. They are:

• “Discrimination on the basis of familial status and perceived political ideology.” The claim said evidence included the teacher allegedly linking their concerns about teaching the student to board votes and having no prior interaction with the family in question.
• The teacher allegedly shared their concerns with multiple staff members, which then trickled down to the fourth grade class placement team.
• The teacher allegedly requested a policy to “exclude students from families perceived unsupportive of LGBTQIA+ identities.”
• The teacher allegedly misused their “protected nonbinary identity as pretext,” with “no evidence of threat from (redacted) to date.”
• The claim states that the teacher alleged that there was harassment from the family member in person, through social media and emails, but that no evidence has been produced.

The claim includes four allegations against the Tumwater School District. They are:

• The district allegedly does not have a written policy for elementary school class placement, “despite actual notice of problems since August 2023.”
• The district allegedly has not required substantiation of safety claims.
• The claim alleges that there was retaliation against a school board member and their family. It states there was exclusion “tied directly to … protected board votes.”
• The claim also alleges the district has no mandatory nondiscrimination training for student placement. It states that a letter from September admitted to “district-wide training deficiencies.”

The Olympian reported in February 2025 on the Tumwater school board’s vote that ultimately supported banning transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams. Taylor was among the three board members who supported updating WIAA policy regarding transgender athletes.

At the board meeting Dec. 4, Taylor called the concerns about his role as board president ridiculous. He said the policy about conflicts of interest doesn’t include language that would bar him from being the president of the board while potentially pursuing litigation.

Board members Ty Kuehl and Rob Warner nominated Taylor for the position of president at the Dec. 4 meeting. Beard and Julie Watts supported Kuehl taking the helm. Taylor ultimately voted for himself to be school board president, winning the vote 3-2.

Olympian archives contributed to this report.

Ty Vinson

The Olympian

360-357-0201

Ty Vinson covers the City of Olympia and keeps tabs on Tumwater and other communities in Thurston County. He joined The Olympian in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian and the Arizona Republic as a Pulliam Fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription