The Kern Community College District will pay former Bakersfield College professor Matthew Garrett $2.4 million plus $154,520 as compensation for back wages and medical benefits since Garrett’s dismissal in April of 2023. In a settlement agreement dated July 18, 2024, Garrett, a tenured history professor agreed to drop all further legal action against KCCD. The agreement stipulates that Garrett will not be returning to his former teaching position.
The KCCD board of trustees voted to terminate Garrett after then-Bakersfield College interim President Zavareh Dadabhoy submitted a 19-page report titled, “Statement of Charges” accusing Garrett of engaging in improper or unprofessional conduct, among other things. Garrett appealed and his case was heard by the Office of Administrative Hearings between March 4 and May 22, 2024. The Administrative Law Judge hearing the case had not made any ruling when the parties came to an agreement.
You can read the full settlement agreement here: https://southkernsol.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Settlement-Agreement-and-Mutual-General-Release-M.-Garrett_Signed-Final_July-18-2024.pdf
