Family gets $150K in bullying settlement

COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP) - A former student at a Central Indiana high school has agreed to a $150,000 settlement of her lawsuit claiming school officials failed to stop bullying by a male classmate.

Neither the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. nor the male student admit any wrongdoing in the settlement, which calls for a $100,000 payment from the district's insurance company and $50,000 from the student's family insurer.

The federal lawsuit claimed the male student at Columbus North High School spread sexually explicit rumors about the girl.

Cheryl Sobieralski tells The Republic that her daughter was bullied and intimidated by the boy throughout the 2008-09 school year and the following summer during band camp. She says that led to her daughter having panic attacks and talking about suicide.