Former Nonprofit Director and Local Police Officer Accused of Breaching Contract With Employer

17 March 2006

The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), a nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping children safe at school, has filed a lawsuit in Sarasota County, Florida, against Curt Lavarello, its former executive director and a former law enforcement officer within the county.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to prohibit Lavarello from continuing to take actions that cause harm and damage to the organization. Under a separation agreement signed June 7, 2005, Lavarello agreed not to compete directly with NASRO for a period of one year, in exchange for agreed-upon compensation and other financial benefits. A preliminary injunction is intended to restrain Lavarello from continuing to harm NASRO until a final ruling can be made.

Lavarello left NASRO, an organization he helped found approximately five months after its new president, Mr. John Kotnour, commenced the implementation of new ethics guidelines and financial controls.

"This lawsuit is about giving NASRO every opportunity to move forward to fulfill its goal of keeping children safe at school through the selection, training and placement of effective school resource officers (SROs)," said Stephanie Adler, a Partner with the law firm Jackson Lewis in Orlando, Florida who is representing NASRO. "It is unfortunate that a disgruntled former employee appears intent on harming the organization he helped create." Adler adds that "NASRO intends to produce overwhelming evidence that Mr. Lavarello has engaged in activities in violation of his agreement and that his activities have negatively effected the reputation of NASRO, the leading association in the global school safety community."

"It is imperative that any non-for-profit organization maintain its transparency and employ a code of ethics to ensure it remains focused on its values and mission," said Adler. "The NASRO board is committed to aggressively taking the steps needed to protect the association for the benefit of its members and the public it serves. We look forward to a favorable outcome for NASRO in this litigation."

The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) is a not-for- profit membership organization of school-based law enforcement officers, school administrators, and school security/safety professionals working as partners to protect students, school faculty and staff. NASRO was founded in 1990 as a member service organization and has grown to nearly 9,000 members worldwide. The organization provides training and membership services for its members.

Source: prnewswire

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