[Vision2020] Moscow School Board Won't Negotiate

Wed Jul 25 16:12:22 PDT 2007

The lawsuit filed by Dr Weitz indicates that he (Dr Weitz) will not have to
pay attorney fees if he loses, and that MSD cannot seek attorney fees should
they prevail.

GS

On 7/25/07, Tom Ivie <the_ivies3 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Can't the "winning" side ask the court for attorney's fees to be paid by
> the "losing" party?  If so, regardless of who loses, someone could end up
> paying big time.
>
> *Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>* wrote:
>
> Dedicated to the Moscow School Board.
>
> In the words of Joan Baez . . .
>
> "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'round"
> http://www.tomandrodna.com/Songs/AGLN_Baez.mp3
>
> >From today's (July 25, 2007) Moscow-Pullman Daily News -
>
> "'This negotiation would have to be with the 56.7 percent of people that
> voted for it,' she [Margaret Dibble, board vice chairwoman] said.
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Moscow school board won't negotiate
> MSD wants courts to decide outcome of levy lawsuit; next hearing postponed
> until Oct.
>
> By Kate Baldwin, Daily News staff writer
>
> Wednesday, July 25, 2007 - Page Updated at 12:00:00 AM
>
> The Moscow School Board will return to court in October for the next
> hearing
> in its $7.6 million lawsuit despite listening to appeals Tuesday night
> from
> patrons who want the district to seek a settlement.
>
> "The delay makes things difficult, but we're not afraid of the ultimate
> decision of the court," said Margaret Dibble, board vice chairwoman. "We
> certainly believe in the law. We want to do the right thing and we believe
> that is abiding by the will of the electorate."
>
> Voters approved a $1.9 million increase to the district's indefinite
> supplemental levy March 27. The increase brought the total amount of the
> levy to $7.6 million.
>
> Moscow dentist Gerald Weitz challenged that election with a lawsuit he
> filed
> on May 4. He also threatened the full levy amount because his lawsuit
> alleged the district failed to follow state law.
>
> The district lost an attempt to dismiss the case at its last court hearing
> June 29. The same day, the district's attorneys filed a motion for summary
> judgement and received a hearing date for Aug. 24, when the judge would
> hear
> the facts of the case and issue a ruling.
>
> MSD attorney Amy White sent a notice to the district Monday with
> information
> that Weitz's attorneys have filed a similar motion. The legal procedure
> extended the deadlines and required the hearing date to be pushed back.
> With
> Second District Judge John Bradbury unavailable for a hearing in
> September,
> the earliest date available for the hearing is Oct. 5.
>
> "The district continues to remain optimistic that they will prevail on
> this
> matter and firmly believes that they complied with all the legalities for
> this election," White wrote.
>
> About 14 people attended Tuesday's meeting and many participated in a
> heated
> exchange that brought people out of their seats as they argued for and
> against the possibility of negotiating a settlement.
>
> The board's decision to stay within the court system upset Moscow resident
> Don Harter, who spoke in favor of his plan for conciliation. His proposal
> would require the district to rerun its levy as an ordinary supplemental
> levy that would need to be repeated annually or biannually in exchange for
> a
> legal agreement from Weitz to drop his lawsuit.
>
> "You have more options and more control than your opponent," he said.
>
> Harter predicted a winning outcome would lead to a worse situation because
> he believes Weitz would appeal and carry the process out another 18
> months.
>
> "If you win, you'll immediately go into prayer," he said.
>
> Harter also predicted that if Weitz won, the district would have to pursue
> its option to appeal, which he equated to "you shoot yourself in the foot
> by
> keeping in turmoil another 18 months." He warned that staying within the
> court system could keep escalating the case.
>
> "Good luck with your legal expenses to see it all the way through the
> Supreme Court," he said.
>
> Moscow property owner Isabel Bond spoke about her concerns with the levy
> while she offered her support for Weitz's agenda to have more
> professional-technical education in the district.
>
> "I'd like to see some negotiation," she said. "I'd like to see the
> taxpayers
> have a real say in what's going on."
>
> Bond didn't think voters understood the election and she questioned the
> election because she said there was a low voter turnout.
>
> Moscow resident and former teacher Bob Weisel stood up to support the
> election results.
>
> "I voted in that levy. I knew what I was voting for," he said. "Anybody
> that
> didn't understand what they were voting for should've asked somebody."
>
> He also spoke to comments Bond raised about Weitz's educational
> philosophy.
>
> "For some strange reason, we've got somebody who feels he knows more about
> education than the people we hire to run" the district, he said.
>
> Moscow parent Michael Jennings was concerned that negotiating with Weitz
> would cause instability in funding that would eventually "deconstruct" the
> schools.
>
> "I want to encourage the board to stay with the law, to move forward
> within
> the legal system," he said.
>
> Jennings brought up Weitz's tumultuous history with the district,
> including
> both his time on the board and his resignations from it at times of
> disagreement.
>
> "He's a bully," Jennings said. "He's held our children hostage to
> blackmail,
> to wanting to do it his way."
>
> Board chairwoman Dawn Fazio had to call the room to order as the comments
> from opposing sides intensified. She pointed to the arguments as an
> example
> of why "we can't resolve this here."
>
> At the end of the night, Dibble said the district followed its legal
> counsel
> and held "a perfectly good, democratic election."
>
> "This negotiation would have to be with the 56.7 percent of people that
> voted for it," she said.
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "I think one of the best ways to support education is to make successful
> private schools like Logos prosper through tax exemption."
>
> - Donovan Arnold (July 11, 2005)
>
>
>
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>
>
>
> Tom & Liz Ivie
>
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