BOCA RATON, Fla. (CBS12) — Hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars have been spent in litigation and cash settlements; money caught up in multiple legal sagas that began a year ago this week, when conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot.

This deals with Freedom of Speech, a controversial political figure, and employment issues.

However you personally feel (or felt) about Charlie Kirk and his ideas, does it bother you that Florida is losing, and we are all paying, in every case where someone got terminated for expressing their opinion about Kirk?

After he was killed, lots of people were writing things about Charlie Kirk on social media. Some of them got fired for their comments. And when they went to court about being treated unfairly — they won.

On background, Charlie Kirk was a polarizing personality. His speeches and media appearances rubbed some people the wrong way. Others loved everything he said about values and America. He launched TurningPoint USA, a conservative youth movement like nothing this country has ever seen, once telling an audience, “the Democrats say instead of owning a home, you’ll rent a 400 square foot apartment. Instead of owning a car, you’ll rent a scooter through some app.”

Robert Cassanello is the President of a state-wide union for educators, United Faculty of Florida. He talked with the I-Team about Charlie Kirk comment terminations.

“What’s important, I think in these cases, is that the courts have sided with our contracts, for those of us who have collective bargaining agreements,” Cassanello said, “And for someone to go to social media, after hours, as a private citizen and express their views has nothing to do with their work duties or what they’re doing inside the classroom.”

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Beyond the classroom, at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 3 employees got fired for writing about Charlie kirk.

A biologist, Britney Brown, sued the state and won a $485,000 settlement. A second employee Haley Massung, got a $65,000 settlement.

A third, Taylor Ozimek is still in court.

Meanwhile, a high-profile case is unfolding in Martin County.

A social studies teacher, Matthew Theobald, got fired from Spectrum Academy for his Charlie Kirk comments.

An administrative judge recommended he be re-instated, but the Martin County School Board is holding firm, likely making them subject to a lawsuit. And to defend against it, they’d use tax dollars to pay attorneys.

“The state or the local school district ends up having to pay the court costs for something, that is on its face, unconstitutional,” Cassanello said.

In Lee and Clay counties, there are similar cases.

At FAU, Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton, two professors, Rebel Cole and Karen Leader were in hot water for Charlie Kirk posts.

The university put them on leave, then both were re-instated.

“We would [potentially] represent them on the fact that the contract was violated,” Cassanello said, “Professors and teachers in the classroom, not just K through 12, but colleges and universities too, have a right to extramural speech, on issues of the day, so long as they aren’t representing that they’re speaking for the institutions they work for.”

Jon Carter, an FAU alum and Republican political consultant, disagrees. “Charlie Kirk was the leader of this conservative generation and we are lost without him,”

Carter argues, even if the professors said something in their off-time, there should be consequences because of their highly public and influential roles.

“We knew Charlie. This wasn’t a random video. So when you see someone die, in a horrific way, that you know, and then your professors are publicly celebrating this horrific act of violence, and you’re supposed to show up to class and act right, and accept this person as your educational authority, who ultimately dictates your outcome– with your grades, that is disruptive and you can’t have that in an environment that’s supposed to foster learning for all,” Carter told the I-Team.

This isn’t just happening in Florida.

In several other states, teachers and others have found themselves in trouble at work for Charlie Kirk comments. Some have even filed federal lawsuits.

There could be settlements in the millions.