The Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments has agreed to pay $250,000 to settle a federal lawsuit brought by Beth Schmidt, who was fired as the agency’s Safe Routes to School coordinator for wearing a T-shirt bearing an image of one of America’s most celebrated civil rights paintings.
The settlement came three months after a federal judge issued a stinging rebuke of the council’s position. In July, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken emphatically rejected the council’s motion to dismiss Schmidt’s lawsuit and ruled that its executive director was not entitled to qualified immunity.
The council is a public consortium of cities and counties throughout Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties…