DATE: Thursday, August 14, 1997             TAG: 9708140608

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: MANTEO                            LENGTH:   41 lines

SUIT'S OUT-OF-COURT SETTLEMENT DUE FOR DARE SCHOOL BOARD DISCUSSION

The Dare County Board of Education will consider terms of an out-of-court settlement with former Kitty Hawk Elementary School Assistant Principal Carmen Melito, Superintendent Leon Holleman confirmed Wednesday.

Melito filed suit last month in Dare County Superior Court, charging that he was wrongfully fired.

Holleman said that a settlement will be discussed in a closed session at the board's meeting Tuesday.

Holleman declined to discuss specifics but said the proposal includes giving Melito a teaching position. He declined to say where.

Asked what prompted the settlement, Holleman said, ``I think we've always tried to do the right thing. Since day one, it was made clear that Mr. Melito was welcome to apply for other positions within the system.''

Reached at his Southern Shores home, Melito said he will be teaching special education at First Flight Elementary under a one-year contract. However, he will be paid the same salary - $49,740 - he earned as an administrator at Kitty Hawk.

Melito, 59, was one year from meeting requirements for full benefits under North Carolina's retirement system when he was terminated at the end of last year. But the driving reason behind Melito's suit, he said, was not money.

``I wanted to stand up to them,'' Melito said. ``I just didn't want to lay down and let them do this.''

Melito said settlement talks began two weeks ago between attorneys for the school district and the North Carolina Association of Educators. The NCAE joined Melito as a party in the suit.

While Melito said he is satisfied with the settlement, one thing remains unclear.

``They did make an offer to me to apply for other jobs within the system,'' Melito said. ``But the reason they terminated me to begin with is still a mystery.''

Melito has been with the Dare County system for three years. He has been in education for 27 years. KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT

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