Former news anchor J.C. Hayward dismissed from Options charter lawsuit
Longtime television news anchor J.C. Hayward was dismissed from a high-profile charter school lawsuit on Tuesday, releasing her from allegations that she was involved in financial mismanagement at a Washington, D.C. school for troubled teens.
A spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General’s confirmed that Hayward, a former WUSA Channel 9 anchor who once chaired the board of Options Public Charter School, reached a settlement agreement with the city.
The D.C. attorney general filed a lawsuit in October 2013 naming the well-known television personality as one of five people involved in an effort to divert millions of federal tax dollars meant for Options to two for-profit companies that the school’s managers founded and ran. According to the terms of her settlement agreement, Hayward will pay $8,500 to Options, a sum authorities had alleged she received to attend board meetings of one company. Hayward’s lawyer, Jeffrey S. Jacobovitz, noted that the sum had been approved by the board’s outside counsel at the time.
Three former senior managers of Options Public Charter School allegedly concocted an elaborate contracting scam that led to improper payments of more than $3 million since 2012. J.C. Hayward, who was a member of the school’s board, has been dismissed from a civil lawsuit. (Marlon Correa/The Washington Post)The District’s claims are still pending against the other defendants, including Paul Dalton, Donna Montgomery, and David Cranford — all former managers at the school — and Jeremy Williams, a former D.C. Public Charter School Board official. The Office of the Attorney General said a parallel federal investigation is pending.
Hayward retired from WUSA in January after four decades on the air. She had been on hiatus since late 2013, when she was placed on leave pending an investigation into the Options allegations.
“Ms. Hayward has always disputed these claims from the beginning and has professed her profound commitment to helping at-risk young people in the Metropolitan Washington D.C. area,” Jacobovitz said in a statement on behalf Former news anchor J.C. Hayward dismissed from Options charter lawsuit - The Washington Post: