Keystone Comm. v. Switz. of Ohio Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ.

• Decision Date: 13 June 2016
• Docket Number: No. 15 MO 0011.,15 MO 0011.
• Citation: 2016 Ohio 4663,67 N.E.3d 1
• Parties: KEYSTONE COMMITTEE, et al., Plaintiffs–Appellees v. The SWITZERLAND OF OHIO SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION, Defendant–Appellant.
• Court: Ohio Court of Appeals

67 N.E.3d 1

2016 Ohio 4663

KEYSTONE COMMITTEE, et al., Plaintiffs–Appellees

v.The SWITZERLAND OF OHIO SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION, Defendant–Appellant.

No. 15 MO 0011.

Court of Appeals of Ohio, Seventh District, Monroe County.

June 13, 2016.

William A. Nolan, Catherine Jopling, Barnes & Thornburg, LLP, Columbus, OH, Michael J. Shaheen, St. Clairsville, OH, for plaintiffs-appellees.

Christian M. Williams, Jacqueline T. Walsh Brickman, Pepple & Waggoner, Ltd., Cleveland, OH, for defendant-appellant.

CHERYL L. WAITE, J., MARY DeGENARO, J., and CAROL ANN ROBB, J.

OPINION

WAITE, J.

{¶ 1} Appellant, The Switzerland of Ohio Local School District Board of Education, (hereinafter "Board"), appeals a May 28, 2015, trial court judgment entry granting an injunction sought by the Keystone Committee and Lou Bedford, (collectively referred to as "Appellees"). Appellees sought injunctive relief based on violations of R.C. 122.22, also known as the Ohio Open Meetings Act. Specifically, Appellees alleged in their complaint that the Board: (1) failed to adhere to the stated purpose of a special meeting in violation of R.C. 121.22(F) ; and (2) held improper and illegal discussions and deliberations during executive sessions in violation of R.C. 121.22(G).

{¶ 2} The Switzerland of Ohio Local School District (hereinafter "District"), is the largest geographical school district in the State of Ohio, at 546 square miles. It encompasses all of Monroe County and portions of Belmont and Noble Counties. Its facilities include three high schools, a career center and five elementary schools. Approximately 2,120 students make up the student body of the District. The District is operated by the Board and its administrators.

{¶ 3} Appellee Keystone Committee is an unincorporated organization comprised of residents in and around Beallsville, Ohio and is actively involved with the issue of the potential closure of Beallsville High School, one of the three high schools in the District. Appellee Lou Bedford is a resident and has one daughter who graduated from Beallsville High School and a second daughter who is currently enrolled as a student at the school.

{¶ 4} Appellees filed a complaint in the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas on April 6, 2015, alleging three violations of the Open Meetings Act by the Board as follows: (1) the Board's February 26, 2015, special meeting violated R.C. 121.22(F) ; (2) the Board's March 19, 2015, executive session violated R.C. 121.22 ; and (3) the Board's May 6, 2014, executive session violated R.C. 121.22. Appellees filed a motion for preliminary injunction on April 13, 2015. The Board filed an answer on April 24, 2015, and a brief in opposition to the motion for preliminary injunction on April 27, 2015. A hearing was held on April 29, 2015, at the conclusion of which the court ordered both parties to file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The Board filed a post hearing brief on May 11, 2015, and Appellees filed proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law in support of their motion for injunction on May 11, 2015.

{¶ 5} Although it was noted by the trial court at the outset that the hearing was purportedly held on Appellees' motion for preliminary injunction, the court issued a final judgment entry, in accordance with Civ.R. 54, on May 28, 2015, granting an injunction to Appellees. The Board filed a motion to stay execution of judgment with the trial court on June 26, 2015, which was denied by the trial court in a judgment entry dated June 30, 2015. The Board subsequently filed a motion to stay execution of judgment with this Court on July 13, 2015. Appellees filed a memorandum in response. This Court issued a judgment entry on July 24, 2015, denying the Board's motion for stay of execution of judgment and preserving the status quo.

{¶ 6} A thorough review of the record, including testimony of the Board Superintendent, John Hall; Board President, Justin Isaly; Board Vice President, Ron Winkler and District Treasurer, Lance Erlwein; as well as an examination of the exhibits of record, supports the trial court's findings that violations of R.C. 121.22(F) and R.C. 121.22(G) occurred. The trial court properly granted an injunction in the instant case and the judgment is affirmed.

Facts

{¶ 7} The Board is comprised of five members. During the relevant time period, the members were: Justin Isaly, President; Ron Winkler, Vice President; Jacki Hupp, Dave Matz and Edward Carleton. The Board hired Superintendent John Hall in August of 2013.

{¶ 8} The Board holds regular monthly meetings and occasional special meetings. Superintendent Hall and his staff regularly prepare meeting agendas and notices. The minutes, both for monthly and special meetings, are prepared by Mr. Erlwein, District Treasurer. As with many school districts, the District has experienced a loss of revenue due to local business closures and population decline, among other factors, over the past several years. This loss in revenue has caused the District to be placed in fiscal caution status by the State Superintendent. R.C. 3316.031(B)(1) states:

If the state superintendent determines from a school district's five-year forecast submitted under section 5705.391 of the Revised Code that a district is engaging in any of those practices or that any of those conditions exist within the district, after consulting with the district board of education concerning the practices or conditions, the state superintendent may declare the district to be under a fiscal caution.

{¶ 9} Moreover, the District has garnered poor ratings on academic achievement from the Ohio Department of Education. As a result, the Board has utilized various means to assure fiscal sustainability and academic improvement. One of those has been to introduce the possibility of closing Beallsville High School, which is the basis of the instant case.

{¶ 10} On May 6, 2014, at 5:30 p.m., the Board held a special meeting. The notice issued prior to the meeting stated that the purpose of the meeting was, "District staffing and matters to be kept confidential by federal law or regulations or state statues [sic]. The Board of Education may also consider any other business deemed necessary." (Tr., Exh. 5.) The minutes of the meeting, admitted into the trial record, reflect that the entire meeting consisted of an executive session which lasted from 5:37 p.m. until 8:08 p.m. Superintendent Hall testified at the hearing that during the executive session he presented the Board with information regarding additional course offerings that could result from a closure of Beallsville High School and used a white board to describe curriculum "opportunities" for the 2014–2015 academic year for the two remaining high schools. He also testified that there were no deliberations between the council members about the closure during the executive session and that it was for informational purposes only.

{¶ 11} After that meeting, from conversations held at various times with council members individually, Superintendent Hall felt that closing Beallsville High School would not be prudent. He decided the issue would be revisited depending on the outcome of a school funding issue placed on the ballot for the November 2014 general election. That school issue failed.

{¶ 12} On February 18, 2015, during a regular monthly meeting, the Board voted to go into executive session. A review of the minutes from that session reveal that there were several reasons given for going into executive session, including: (1) to discuss matters relating to the employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion and demotion of a public employee or official; (2) to consider the investigation of charges or complaints against a public employee; and, (3) to consider matters required to be kept confidential by statute or regulation (although no specific statute or regulation was listed). Immediately upon reconvening in open session, the Board voted on a resolution to close Beallsville High School. The vote was tied at 2–2 as Mr. Winkler was not present. Therefore, the motion did not pass, although the meeting minutes do indicate passage of this motion.

{¶ 13} Mr. Winkler testified that he had been contacted multiple times after the meeting by members of the community about the closure, which prompted him to contact Board president Justin Isaly to call a special meeting on the issue. A special meeting was called. Written notice was provided which stated that a special meeting would be held on February 26, 2015, which purpose was "[t]o discuss the 2015–2016 school year." The notice also stated that "[t]here will be no public participation." (Emphasis deleted.) (Tr., Exh. 8.) Treasurer Erlwein testified that the only topic discussed at this special meeting was closure of Beallsville High School and that the very brief meeting consisted only of a vote on the resolution to close the school. The minutes of the meeting reflect that it was highly contentious, with shouting between council and members of the public that were present. Because attendance exceeded the capacity of the usual meeting location at the Central District Office, it was decided to reconvene at nearby Woodsfield Elementary. The closure was discussed by the council members with no comments permitted by the public. A motion was brought to vote on the resolution to close Beallsville High School. The resolution also provided that those students from Beallsville would have the option of attending either of the two other District high schools. The motion passed on a 3–2 vote.

{¶ 14} On March 19, 2015, the Board held its regular monthly meeting. The Board again voted to go into executive session. An agenda for that meeting entered into evidence at trial indicates the executive session lasted from 7:45 p.m. until 10:07 p.m. (Tr., Exh. 10.) Also admitted into evidence was a document entitled, "CONFIDENTIAL—DRAFT Board of Education Executive Session 3/19/15" which Superintendent Hall testified h...