{"id":218792,"date":"2026-03-13T23:23:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T23:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/218792\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T23:23:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T23:23:11","slug":"fresno-unified-pays-1-76-million-to-settle-lawsuit-with-school-nurses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/218792\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno Unified Pays $1.76 Million to Settle Lawsuit With School Nurses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fresno Unified has reached an agreement with three current and former employees, agreeing to pay $1.76 million to the plaintiffs.<\/p>\n

Director of Health Services and Superintendent Misty Her\u2019s cousin, Xai \u201cLiz\u201d Torres, awarded positions to younger nurses with less experience, the lawsuit said.<\/p>\n

In 2024, veteran school nurses Joni Kolb, Janell Beamon, and Heidi Sagaser filed a complaint against the district<\/a> that alleged discrimination.<\/p>\n

In what they parties call an \u201camicable resolution\u201d of the dispute, the district paid a total of $1,765,000 in payments on Dec. 15, 2025, and Jan. 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In exchange, the plaintiffs \u201crelease and forever discharge\u201d Fresno Unified and all related individuals from any and all claims.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would describe it as the definition of a livable settlement where neither side is happy,\u201d said attorney Howard Sagaser, Heidi\u2019s ex-husband. \u201cThe nurses are relieved to be out of what they maintain was a hostile work environment but are concerned that the underlying problems that prompted the lawsuit have not been properly addressed by the district.\u201d<\/p>\n

The original lawsuit alleged age, race, and disability discrimination alongside multiple counts of retaliation and harassment.<\/p>\n

Fresno Unified Doesn\u2019t Admit Wrongdoing<\/p>\n

Fresno Unified denied and continues to deny all claims, unlawful actions, or liability. This compromise is not \u201can admission of liability or wrongdoing,\u201d court documents state.<\/p>\n

All the parties have agreed to make \u201cno maliciously false statements\u2019 about the other.<\/p>\n

The district will place Beamon and Sagaser on paid administrative leave until June 30 before they voluntarily resign. Both qualify for a supplemental executive retirement plan, which provides additional retirement benefits.<\/p>\n

Kolb, who is already retired, will receive $80,000 from the total settlement due to being ineligible for the supplemental executive retirement plan.<\/p>\n

The cost of the settlement will \u201cforce overdue and necessary changes at the administrative level,\u201d Sagaser predicted.<\/p>\n

Fresno Unified did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication<\/p>\n

Related Story: After Fresno Unified Student Dies, District Punishes Whistleblower: Lawsuit<\/a><\/p>\n

Original Lawsuit Alleges Age Discrimination in Fresno Unified<\/p>\n

The lawsuit alleges the highly qualified nurses were passed over for promotions due to their age and faced retaliation for filing complaints.<\/p>\n

Director of Health Services and Superintendent Misty Her\u2019s cousin, Xai \u201cLiz\u201d Torres, awarded positions to younger nurses with less experience, the lawsuit said.<\/p>\n

All three nurses have decades of experience as nurses in the district.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Torres allegedly referred to those over the age of 50 as \u201colder nurses\u201d and told Sagaser that she \u201cdid not like the older nurses, as they always ask for extra pay when they are asked to do extra work, and that they are afraid of COVID.\u201d<\/p>\n

Torres also disbanded a longtime advisory nurse panel, replacing it with a professional learning committee. She did not select Kolb, Beamon, or Sagaser \u2014 once again opting for younger nurses.<\/p>\n

A text message chain cited in the lawsuit showed a group of nurses, including Torres, colluding to get older nurses fired.<\/p>\n

\u201cI filed a complaint against (Beamon) and that\u2019s how I know this is the last straw for her,\u201d one person wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, until the work environment and discrimination concerns are properly addressed, lawsuits will continue to be filed and both the students and taxpayers will suffer,\u201d Sagaser said. \u201cThose who are not qualified for administrative positions or who are not properly doing their job need to be replaced. Teachers and nurses should have a positive work environment where students can be educated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another school nurse, Lisa VanRyn, has also filed a lawsuit against the district alleging similar mismanagement and retaliation.<\/p>\n

Related Story: Fresno Unified\u2019s New Supe Allegedly Helped Promote Her Cousin. 4 Lawsuits …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fresno Unified has reached an agreement with three current and former employees, agreeing to pay $1.76 million to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":218793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-218792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}