Bremerton School District is facing a $27.5 million demand from the superintendent it fired two years ago, with an attorney for James Crawford sending a formal letter accusing the district of breach of contract following his 2024 termination. The letter signals that Crawford is weighing a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the district he once led, according to the Kitsap Sun.
The demand letter functions as more than a threat on paper. Under Washington state law, individuals seeking monetary damages from a school district or municipal agency must file a formal tort claim notice and then wait a mandatory 60 days before a lawsuit can be filed in court, according to MRSC. That statutory window gives Bremerton School District a chance to evaluate its liability and potentially negotiate before Crawford’s claim heads to a courtroom.
Crawford, a Bremerton High School alumnus, had completed only one year of a three-year superintendent contract he signed in March 2023 before the school board voted unanimously on June 26, 2024, against extending it. The board placed him on administrative leave on July 4, 2024, and formally voted to terminate his employment on August 29, 2024, just days before classes resumed, according to Kitsap Daily News.
Two Investigations Fueled the Board’s Case
The board’s decision to remove Crawford followed two separate investigative reports completed in the summer of 2024. An independent investigation by the law firm Haggard & Ganson LLP, finished in July 2024, found that Crawford allegedly accessed and viewed school board members’ emails without authorization on 55 separate occasions between January and June of that year, per the same Kitsap Daily News account. The board had hired the firm in June 2024 after opening an end-of-year executive review of Crawford…