The family of a teenage boy slain last year at Southwood Middle School could receive as much as $1.7 million from the Miami-Dade school district in a settlement approved by the School Board on Wednesday.
Jaime Gough, an eighth-grader, was killed on Feb. 3, 2004 in a bathroom of the Palmetto Bay school. His classmate, 15-year-old Michael Hernandez, has been charged with the murder.
Board members approved the settlement at a closed-door meeting with their attorneys and subsequently finalized it at their monthly business meeting Wednesday afternoon.
''While no legal settlement can ever bring full closure to such a tragedy, this agreement with the Gough family is a fair and reasonable resolution to this painful incident,'' said Superintendent Rudy Crew.
Gough's parents sued the district for wrongful death, asking for $5 million.
''Everybody avoided a trial and reliving the death of their child,'' said Gregg Schwartz, the attorney for Jorge and Maria Gough.
Under the terms of the district deal, the Gough family will immediately receive $700,000 -- $200,000 from the School Board and $500,000 from the district's insurance carrier.
The state Legislature must pass a special bill before the district can pay the additional $1 million. The settlement is contingent upon the district supporting such a law, but not upon its approval. If the Legislature fails to sign off before the end of 2008, the settlement would be limited to $700,000.
Schwartz said the family was thankful that the school board agreed to the settlement, and urged support for the effort to release the additional money through the state Legislature.
''This family has been through a very difficult time and I am willing to assist,'' said Rep. Ralph Arza, R-Hialeah, chairman of the House's PreK-12 Education Committee. Arza said he would consider filing the bill.
If necessary, the family will lobby in Tallahassee, Schwartz said, but agreed to the settlement in part to begin closing some of the legal issues related to Gough's death. They have closely followed Hernandez's pre-trial activity, and the full trial is scheduled for January.
Hernandez, now 15, faces first-degree murder charges for allegedly stabbing Gough more than 40 times in a school bathroom. Hernandez is being tried as an adult.
An attorney for Hernandez, Richard Rosenbaum, plans to argue that his client should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Hernandez also is accused of trying to lure another classmate into a bathroom stall the day before Gough's murder. Hernandez is charged with attempted murder in that case.
Herald staff writer David Ovalle contributed to this report.
Read the proposed settlement agreement