Judge orders former Royal Heights principal to pay costs for lawsuit

Not only did Jasper County Circuit Court Judge Gayle Crane toss out former Royal Heights Principal Larry Masters' lawsuit against former Joplin R-8 officials C. J. Huff, Angie Besendorfer, and Steve Doerr, but she ordered Masters to pay the costs.

Crane granted the former R-8 officials' motion for summary judgment saying there was "no material issue of fact to be decided by the jury."

Masters was demoted from his position as Royal Heights principal in 2010 after he had already received a contract for the 2010-2011 school year. The demotion came after a complaint about possible cheating on the MAP tests. The investigation of that allegation was done by Doerr and former Curriculum Director Chris Templeton and found no wrongdoing.

According to the former officials, the investigation turned up evidence that Masters was "bullying" and "intimidating" the staff.

In a court filing last month, Masters' attorney, Raymond Lampert of Springfield, disputed that assessment.