Board, parents deadlock

Polson school board rejects settlement

The Polson school board and 15 parent plaintiffs are at an impasse after the board rejected a proposed settlement agreement Tuesday.

The parent group, Citizens for Better Schools, threatened the board with litigation after trustees approved a reorganization of Polson School District's two elementary schools at a special meeting May 29. Parents say trustees made the decision without giving the public adequate time to hear the details of the reconfiguration and discuss their concerns with board members.

Citizens for Better Schools agreed to dismiss the suit with prejudice if the board agreed to a number of requests, including rescinding its May 29 decision. The plaintiffs also requested trustees provide all existing documentation related to the proposal.

The board agreed to every term but one: the request that each trustee provide rationale for his or her vote on the reorganization plan.

"They can't agree to something you can't legally do to a publicly elected official," said Elizabeth Kaleva, the attorney representing the school board.

Elected officials cannot be required to provide documentation for every decision they make, Kaleva said.

"I explained this to their attorney, who understands," she said.

But Citizens for Better Schools say the request is reasonable.

"If they vote again, they should explain why they're voting on how they're voting," said Greg Hobbs, one of the plaintiffs. "Even Washington politicians do that."

The primary reason for the litigation isn't necessarily the reorganization, which would affect Cherry Valley and Linderman schools. Currently, both schools hold kindergarten through fourth-grade students; under the new plan, preschool through first-grade students will attend Cherry Valley, while second- through fourth-graders will go to Linderman.

Parents say they're more upset that the school board made such an important decision without giving the public much notice or information about what the reconfiguration will entail.

"The reorganization I'm not against, because it's not been defined what it exactly is," Hobbs said.

When the board approved reconfiguring the schools, the district didn't have a plan ready, he explained.

"To me, that says they don't know what it is," he said.

Parents first heard the board was considering a reorganization in letters sent home with students May 25, the day before Memorial Day weekend. The board voted four days later.

Because of delays in the state Legislature, that rapid action was beyond the district's control, school board chairwoman Theresa Taylor told the Inter Lake in an interview May 30. At that time, the school district did not have its general fund budget numbers from the state and had just learned May 23 how much money would be available from the state Office of Public Instruction to implement full-day kindergarten.

One-time start-up money is available to Montana school districts to kick-start all-day programs. Districts have until 2012 to collect the money.

Trustees did discuss whether to offer all-day kindergarten next year, and ultimately decided they had no reason not to, Taylor said last month.

However, she added, to make that happen and to keep class sizes small, the board believed reconfiguring the elementary schools was necessary.

More than 200 people attended the May 29 meeting, where the board unanimously approved reorganization. Several members of the public spoke at the meeting; most requested more information about the details of the reorganization.

Those questions, Hobbs said, went unanswered.

"I want answers to my questions," he said. "How much is it going to cost, and why is this better?"

The board is holding a special meeting July 12 to revisit the reorganization. Superintendent Sue McCormick will give a presentation on the reconfiguration plan, and "I am anticipating we will accept public comment on it," Taylor said.

Failing to reach a settlement with Citizens for Better Schools has been "disheartening," she said.

"I'm disappointed," she said. "Obviously it would have been nice to be able to resolve this at this point. I'm disheartened that we couldn't come to a settlement."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com