Published: August 26, 2008 01:30 pm         

Chancellor orders BOE to open schools

Finds school board violated Tennessee Sunshine Law

School is back in session after a two-week delay.

Friday evening Chancellor Ronald Thurman ruled in favor of County Mayor Brock Hill's complaint against the Cumberland County Board of Education.

Along with Thurman's ruling, a court order was issued stating that Cumberland County schools are to be opened on or by Wednesday, Aug. 27. If the schools are not opened by this date the director of schools must appear in Chancery Court in Cookeville at 10 a.m., Friday, Aug. 29, in order to show cause as to why they were not opened. The hearing lasted nearly four hours and testimony was heard from three witnesses.

In a special-called meeting later Friday night, the BOE decided to open the school system Monday and begin the 2008-'09 school year. The meeting was also to discuss and pass an amended budget for the 2008-'09 school year.

"I am very pleased for our community. This whole thing has been a black eye on the community and we can put our differences aside and get the children back in school. Now we can talk about funding our school system. I was disappointed with the county commission. The three cents from debt service will not hold. It won't be enough. We need a compromise between them and the school board, but the county needs to support our school system," Mayor Hill said following the hearing.

Thurman said the "BOE needed to apprise the populous" of what it was doing. And that based on the agenda for the special-called Aug. 8 meeting there was not adequate notice to the public and although it was "not intentional, the BOE went way beyond what was on the agenda."

Once the BOE went beyond the scope of the agenda, it became a violation.

The Aug. 18 meeting was ruled invalid by Thurman because it simply was a meeting to "rubber stamp" the action the board took on Aug. 8. The way to "cure" the violation and action of the meeting on Aug. 8 would have been to hold a meeting with an open forum to get public input before the action was taken by the BOE, according to Thurman's ruling.

Thurman based his ruling on Tennessee Code Annotated 49-6-3004 which states the school year shall commence on the Tuesday following Labor Day unless the school board votes in majority to open schools on a different date. Thurman said the Cumberland County BOE had adopted an alternate calendar to start school on Aug. 11 and therefore that was the date the public expected the schools to open.

Thurman also referred to Neese versus Paris School Board, a case similar to Cumberland County's

After the hearing Director of Schools Aarona VanWinkle said, "I am fine with (the ruling.) I have no problem at all with it. I want our children back in school."

At the beginning of the hearing Board of Education Attorney Earl Patton said he had just found out that the plaintiff, Brock Hill, was not seeking the immediate opening of schools and that based on that, a remedy was not available.

"If we resume the calendar they will not be able to make the 180 days the state requires," Patton said.

James E. Thompson, attorney for Cumberland County and Mayor Hill said they were not seeking the immediate opening of school, but rather to show they were entitled to a restraining order.

Chancellor Thurman then said that he felt the plaintiff was seeking a writ of mandamus — an action to tell a governmental entity or body to do an act. The hearing then proceeded and was treated as such.

Thompson called 6th District BOE representative Victor Randolph as a witness. Randolph testified both meetings on Aug. 8 and Aug. 18 were special-called. He testified he thought the purpose of the Aug. 8 meeting was to discuss the school budget and negotiations between the BOE and Cumberland County Budget Committee. Randolph also stated he had no idea the subject of closing schools would come up during the meeting.

After being questioned by Patton, Randolph testified the room was "full of people and they were spilling out into the hallway" during the Aug. 8 meeting.

Thompson called Brock Hill to testify and he stated it was common for the county to run on a continuing budget and it has been done in the past several years without school being postponed. Hill said the county was given no indication the BOE was even considering postponing the beginning of school for the 2008-'09 school year.

Patton moved to dismiss the injunction against the county stating Hill had no proof that he personally had suffered any harm.

Thompson replied Hill was representing not only himself but the county and the students and their families and the county were irreparably harmed by postponing the opening of schools.

Thurman denied Patton's motion saying Hill acting in his official capacity or not had the standing to proceed with the hearing.

Patton then called Director of Schools Aarona VanWinkle.

VanWinkle explained the budget dilemma facing the school system and the multi-million dollar shortfall, creating the sense of emergency to postpone the opening of schools. However, VanWinkle stated she had no clue the BOE was going to decide to not open schools on Aug. 8 during the special-called meeting.

She testified that if the county didn't fund at the amount it was funded at last year they wouldn't be able to open school.

"We didn't have the cash flow to operate schools with the expenses we had," VanWinkle said.

Patton said there were damages alleged by the delay in opening schools and asked VanWinkle if the board had considered that.

"Yes, we had a great deal of discussion over it and decided it would be better to delay than to start school and then stop it," she said.

Thompson asked VanWinkle if she had made a recommendation to the board over when to start and she replied she did not and left it up to the board to decide on that.

During their arguments Thompson said, "It's obvious the public has to have advance notice under the circumstances ... The public made plans based on the schools opening on Aug. 11 ... The BOE produced a calendar ... Aarona is an honest women. She said they didn't know they weren't gong to start school."

Patton said, "This suit is on the open meetings act ... The potential debt is the exact reason for postponing the start of school. If the (BOE) is forced to open then the (BOE) may run out of money before the 2008-'09 school year ends."

Patton then denied the BOE violated the open meetings act because the director of schools did not order the meeting, the room was filled with people and there is no way to guarantee what specifically may come up.

"It was a perfect storm created by this situation. A late budget, low revenue and right at the time of school opening ...," Patton said.

He closed saying there was not a violation of the open meetings act because there was an open discussion and vote.

Thompson then countered that it was the manner in which the board chose to vote. The members knew or suspected it and the public should have been made aware there was a possible vote.

After a 30-minute recess Thurman came back and announced his decision stating the BOE's violation was not intentional, but it had went way beyond what was on the agenda. He also stated he wasn't sure if all of the required people were informed of the special-called meeting.

"Based on the agenda there was not adequate notice," he said.

Thurman also said he understood there was a revenue shortfall.

"This is a progressive county. You should be able to solve these problems," he said.

Thurman also informed Patton that if the BOE didn't agree with the ruling they could appeal it.