Board approves report's release

Troy Bowman always carries a rock in her pocket.

It's small. Nondescript. But it used to belong to her son, so to Bowman, it's a treasure.

"I just keep it," she said. "It's kind of like my talisman."

Bowman's son, Jeff, died Aug. 20, one week after he collapsed and went into cardiac arrest while running laps during the first day of football practice. He was a 17-year-old senior at Bigfork High School.

Bowman and her husband, Bob, have been looking for answers ever since.

Answers may exist in an investigative report on the circumstances surrounding their son's death. The Bigfork School District hired Elizabeth Kaleva, a Missoula attorney who specializes in school law, to conduct the investigation. She interviewed more than 30 people who witnessed Bowman's collapse.

Her report will be made public this evening, 24 hours after it was released to the Bowman family. The Bigfork school board unanimously authorized its release at a special meeting Monday night and agreed that the Bowmans should have a full day to review it before it goes public.

The board's decision followed a statement released last week by Caplis and Deasy, the Denver law firm representing the Bowmans. In the statement, Troy Bowman and her husband, Bob, said they had requested the report from the school district after learning from a television reporter that the school board was holding a special meeting to formally approve the report's release.

That meeting was scheduled for Oct. 8. The district gave notice of the meeting, as required by state law. It did not, however, notify the Bowmans personally. They were unaware of it until about 8 p.m. Oct. 7, when a reporter called to ask if they planned to attend the meeting.

Dan Caplis, the Bowmans' attorney, said he sent Superintendent Russell Kinzer a letter, asking him to postpone the meeting until the family had a chance to review the report. Kinzer told the Inter Lake in an Oct. 9 interview that he did not know why Caplis had asked to delay its release.

The family will release another statement after they have had time to review the report, Troy Bowman said.

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