Caledonia Argus

Board delays comments on lawsuit until school board meeting

Posted: 4/8/03

by Andrew Miller
Argus News Reporter

A lawsuit filed by The Caledonia Argus against the ISD #299 Board of Education, in which Argus Managing Editor Jane Palen contended that the board failed to provide a proper summary of its conclusions regarding the evaluation of then-Superintendent Percy Lingen in April 2002, resulted in a judgment on March 27 ordering the board to release a proper summary. District officials anticipate the board to release its summary in the coming week.

Palen commented that she was pleased with the outcome of the case, though disappointed that Judge James Fabian didnít award the newspaper its attorneyís fees. She added that The Argus took legal action against the school board only after seeking an opinion on the matter from the Minnesota Commissioner of Administration, who advised that the statement released by the board following the evaluation was not a proper summary. When the board declined to release a revised statement after the Commissioner issued his opinion, she said, the lawsuit then became necessary.

ìThe Commissionerís opinion gave very clear instructions as to what a summary should include, that it should include each salient point,î Palen said. ìI really have a lot of respect for them (the school board), but I didnít understand why they didnít come forward with it, especially after getting the Commissionerís opinion.î

No fines or penalties were imposed upon school board members, and Dr. Jim Tool, the current superintendent of ISD #299, said he believes the cost of the lawsuit to the district will be $5000, the amount of the districtís insurance deductible for attorneyís fees. Palen said she anticipates that The Argusí attorneyís fees will equal or exceed $5000.

As of Monday, school board members hadnít had a chance to discuss the outcome of the lawsuit as a group, and those contacted said theyíd need to delay public comment until the board had discussed the matter.

The board was to have met Monday evening, but the meeting was called off due to bad weather.

The school board has 60 days to appeal the judgeís decision. The newspaper may also appeal the judgeís decision not to award attorney fees.

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