Librarian, Llano County nearing settlement in wrongful termination suit

Former Kingsland head librarian Barbara Suzette Baker and Llano County have tentatively reached a settlement agreement in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by Baker after she was fired in 2022. 

A “notice of tentative settlement” filed March 6 with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, reads:

“The Parties hereby notify the Court that all parties have tentatively reached material terms of settlement that will fully resolve all claims in this action. Once the parties execute a final signed agreement, Plaintiff will file a notice of dismissal.”

Iris Halpern, an attorney with the Rathod Mohamedbhai law firm in Colorado, represents Baker in the civil suit. She told DailyTrib.com the terms of the settlement had been agreed upon and the details are nearly finalized and will soon be made publicly available.

“For us, it’s really important that justice is done for our client,” she said.

Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham told DailyTrib.com the county is ready to move beyond the suit.

“We’ve reached a settlement, we stand by the arguments that we have, and we’re looking to put it behind us and move forward,” he said. 

Baker was fired from her job at the Kingsland Branch Library, part of the Llano County Library System, in March 2022 after accusations of insubordination. This took place during a slew of controversies surrounding the dissolution and reorganization of the Llano County Library Advisory Board and the removal of 17 books from library shelves, which led to a First Amendment lawsuit by different plaintiffs against the county and several advisory board members in April 2022. 

Specifically, Baker refused to remove a “banned books display” when ordered to, attended advisory board meetings against the wishes of its members and Llano County Library System Director Amber Milum, and refused to remove books from the library’s collection that contained racial and LGBTQ+ themes when told to.

Baker filed a wrongful termination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the county and several members of the advisory board in November 2022 and then filed an official suit in March 2024, believing her First Amendment and civil rights had been violated in the ordeal.

She received national attention after her firing, including receiving the Authors Guild’s first-ever Champion of Writers Award in June 2024. Her story was also featured in a documentary, “The Librarians,” which premiered at the popular media festival SXSW in Austin on March 7.

dakota@thepicayune.com