The Panther Valley School Board on Thursday reluctantly agreed to pay a teacher a total of $82,435.99, settling a long-running series of lawsuits, appeals and rulings.

The board voted 6-3 to make the payment, as ordered by Carbon County Court of Common Pleas, to Robert J. Thomas.School directors Roy Angst, Irene Genther, Koreen Nalesnik, Anthony DeMarco and Michelle Markovich voted to pay the money.School directors David Hiles, Richard Zabroski and board President Jeff Markovich opposed.Solicitor Robert T. Yurchak said the board could be held liable if it failed to approve the court-ordered payment.The payment will be split, with $52,022.09 payable on Thursday (Aug. 23), and $30,413.90 on Jan. 10, 2013.Thomas and the Panther Valley Education Association sued the district after the board denied Thomas' grievance.According to the suit, Thomas, a certified health and physical education teacher, worked as a substitute for the district. As of Nov. 12, 2004, he was hired as an alternative education teacher, and signed a temporary professional employee contract. He worked in that capacity through the 2005-06 school year, after which the alternative education program was dropped. Three of Thomas's four evaluations during that time were satisfactory, but the last, on Aug. 1, 2006, was unsatisfactory.On Aug. 11, 2006, then-Superintendent Christopher J. West notified Thomas that the school board had voted against renewing his contract because of the program change. PVEA on Sept. 13, 2006, filed a grievance on Thomas' behalf. The matter went to arbitration. The arbitrator sustained the grievance, and told the district to place Thomas on the recall list, reinstate him and pay him the wages, seniority and benefits seniority and benefits due from Aug. 11, 2006 until the date of his reinstatement.. In the ruling, the arbitrator noted that according to Public School Code, temporary professional employees enjoy the same rights and privileges of regular, full-time employees.The school district appealed the arbitrator's ruling, arguing that Thomas was fired because of his unsatisfactory evaluation and so was not eligible for recall. Further, the district argued Thomas had no right to a grievance or recall.On Dec. 11, 2009, the trial court denied the appeal.In 2010, Commonwealth Court affirmed the lower-court ruling in favor of the Panther Valley Education Association and Thomas. The school district then appealed that ruling.