Hamilton County School officials say they won't give any information about the amount of money paid out to settle two lawsuits brought in Federal Court by students who were injured in the Ooltewah High rape incident.
They also said they would not release the amount the county schools had to pay in legal expenses for defending the cases.
Chattanoogan.com filed an Open Records request with the county schools seeking the amount of the settlements and the legal costs.
Tim Hensley, county school spokesperson, said he checked both with County School Attorney Scott Bennett and the county school finance department and was told by both, “We do not have any records responsive to this request.”
Mr. Hensley said, "From my experience, the responsibility for payment would have moved to a third party - likely one providing insurance coverage for the district."
He added, "Scott Bennett contacted me again and said any additional inquiries would need to be directed to Charles Purcell, the attorney retained by Tennessee Risk Management Trust."
Attorney Purcell would not respond to Chattanoogan.com.
The suits were filed after several Ooltewah High freshmen basketball players had pool cues inserted into their rectums while the team was in Gatlinburg for a Christmas tournament.
One of the students was seriously injured.