When officials with the Seattle School District handed her a $250,000 check Thursday, Donna Jasmer wasn't focusing just on the money, said her longtime partner, Mike White.

The money was to settle the wrongful-death suit she filed last summer after her 16-year-old son's murder in 2003 by two fellow Roosevelt High School students.

The Seattle woman also had demanded the district change the way it handles known threats against students, and that aspect was most important to her, White said. In the coming weeks, the district will unveil a new threat-notification policy that was drafted with the help of the Jasmer family, said Peter Daniels, district spokesman.

In the days preceding John Jasmer's Aug. 21, 2003, slaying, at least one school-district employee was aware of a murder plot, according to Seattle police. An independent school-district investigation revealed that two days before the slaying a parent told a district employee that members of the Roosevelt High's football team planned to kill Jasmer.

On the day she received this information, the employee called a Roosevelt vice principal but only left a voice-mail message. The parent who brought the information forth also left a message for the vice principal, according to the school-district investigation. The vice principal said he didn't receive either message.

The district inquiry failed to provide solid answers on whether school officials followed threat policies upon learning about the murder plot. After Jasmer's slaying, a former district spokeswoman summed up the threat-notification policy as saying that all credible threats of violence or harm against a student, employee or public-school property should be promptly and appropriately addressed.

Last April, when the results of the district investigation were released, Mark Green, the district's chief operations officer, said failure of the messages to reach the vice principal directly revealed the policy needed tightening.

"It's important to get the safety and security folks immediately in the loop," said Daniels, district spokesman. "Our principals are well trained, but their primary focus is on academics. Why not bring the most qualified people who are familiar with safety and security in immediately?"

The new policy requires that all "lethal threats be promptly reported" to the district security office, Daniels said.

Receptionists, including students who answer school telephones, will be required to fill out an assessment form when someone calls to report a threat. These people will also be trained as to what is a potential threat and how to handle such matters, Daniels said.

"Had this [the new] policy been followed, I'm confident there's a 99 percent chance John wouldn't have been murdered," White said. "The money was never the issue. It was about preventing this from happening again."

As part of the settlement, Donna Jasmer cannot discuss the deal.

On Aug. 21, 2003, Jenson Hankins and Joshua Goldman lured John Jasmer from his home under the guise they were going to a marijuana farm in Marysville. Upon arriving at the Tulalip Reservation, Goldman led them to a wooded spot. Hankins struck Jasmer on the head with a hammer, and Goldman stabbed him in the neck.

Goldman pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in August and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. In November, a Snohomish County jury found Hankins guilty of the same charge and sentenced him to 27 ½ years behind bars.

The teens, who played with Jasmer on Roosevelt's football team, wanted to exact revenge because they thought Jasmer had raped Hankins' girlfriend, according to Snohomish County prosecutors.

White said he's relieved a settlement has been reached "because now maybe we can get on with our lives."

"I'm happy it's done, for Donna's sake," White said, adding that Donna Jasmer plans to use the money to pay off their house. "It takes a burden off of her."

Jennifer Sullivan: 425-783-0604 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com