NATCHEZ — Following a $660,000 lawsuit, the legal liability insurance rate and deductible for the Natchez-Adams School District will be going up in the 2016-17 school year.

District trustees discussed rate proposals Wednesday before choosing which coverages to accept for the new school year.

Rates for automotive and property liability will also increase, but the general insurance rate will decrease slightly. Overall, the district will be spending $305,991 on insurance this year compared to $257,999 in 2015-16.

The bulk of that increase is from legal liability, which will be $37,000 more a year. The increase is despite a larger deductible, moving from $25,000 last year to $100,000 in the coming year. RSUI Group of Atlanta will continue to provide the legal liability, while Zurich Insurance Group will provide the other coverage.

A federal civil jury ruled the district culpable for creating a hostile work environment — including racial discrimination against the white plaintiff — in forcing former Susie B. West Elementary School principal Cindy Idom to retire during former superintendent Fredrick Hill’s tenure.

The final judgment was issued in January, awarding Idom approximately $668,000 in back pay, damages and legal fees.

Rather than the district appealing to a higher court after a federal judge denied its first appeal, the parties involved made a compromise settlement of $625,000 in April. The district had to pay $125,000 because a settlement was offered before the final judgment was rendered, and the district chose not to accept the initial settlement.

A second legal liability insurance proposal was offered from Western World insurance at $53,247 — or approximately $27,000 less than the RSUI policy — but the deductible was $150,000. The board of trustees Wednesday voted unanimously, 4-0, with Benny Wright absent, to stay with RSUI.

“You save $50,000 on the deducible in the event that you have some exposure,” said trustee Phillip West. “Have there been any recent years where we haven’t had any exposure?”

“The way the economy is right now, these lawsuits aren’t going to stop,” said board president Amos James Jr. “It’s been going on for years.”

The board also voted unanimously to add a cyber/data breach option for $15,348 to its insurance packet.