Former Exeter High girls basketball coach Linda Wachter agreed to a $75,000 out-of-court settlement to resolve a gender-discrimination lawsuit she filed against Exeter Union High School District.
Wachter filed the lawsuit in September 2008 in Tulare County Superior Court after she was let go following a seven-year run that saw her guide Exeter to a Central Section Division IV title and two runner-up finishes.
Wachter, a walk-on coach who did not teach at the school, claimed she was fired because she complained about unequal treatment of the girls and boys basketball programs.
She also alleged the district failed to take seriously her complaints about a hostile work environment and that discrimination in practice times and transportation to and from games violated Title IX, the law requiring equitable treatment for female and male athletes at schools receiving federal funds.
As part of the deal, the district admitted no liability. Wachter agreed to never seek re-employment at any Exeter public school.
The settlement was dated June 3 but was not to be released without a request from the public. The Bee requested details Tuesday and were provided with the documents Wednesday.
The district and its attorney, Mark Kitabayashi, and Wachter and her attorney, Warren Paboojian, all agreed to a confidentiality clause that limits their public comments.
Calls to Wachter's home Wednesday went unanswered. District Superintendent Renee Whitson was out of town and unavailable for comment. Phone messages left for board President Larry Larson and Paboojian were not immediately returned.
Paboojian is the same attorney who represented former Fresno State women's basketball coach Stacy Johnson-Klein and former associate athletic director Diane Milutinovich in their gender-discrimination lawsuits against the university.
Johnson-Klein won and received a settlement worth $9 million. Milutinovich settled for $3.5 million before trial.
Wachter's release as coach followed a controversial ending to the 2007-08 season, when six players chose not to go with the team to Santa Monica for a Southern California Regional playoff game in March 2008, a game the Monarchs' lost 51-41 to Crossroads.
In a written statement, the six players said their decision was based in part on their support for teammates "who have been mentally and verbally abused."
The statement did not identify the source of the alleged abuse.
Wachter also came under fire the summer before that season when a group of families involved with the basketball program unsuccessfully called for a coaching change during a board meeting.
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