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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I would certainly defer to Bruce
Livingston, J. Ford, Sue Hovey or anyone else who can find a <b><u><span
style='font-weight:bold'>speedy</span></u></b> solution to this issue.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>What about Moscow School District
declaring the $1.97 Million levy increase invalid and running another levy election
for $7.57 Million on the next available levy election date (June or September)?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>B. J. Swanson<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
vision2020-bounces@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b><st1:PersonName w:st="on">jeanlivingston</st1:PersonName><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Sunday, May 13, 2007 7:40 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> J Ford; vision2020@moscow.com<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [Vision2020] [Bulk]
Re: Weitz Lawsuit: A Challenge</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>JFord asks:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt'>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>> What about asking for a "judicial
opinion" or judicial review" of the facts <br>
> as presented by the interested parties? Does <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Idaho</st1:place></st1:State> have such an option or <br>
> would a judge(s) be willing to do this? How about the AG looking at the <br>
> "facts" and issuing an opinion? If those come back negatively
opinoned, <br>
> wouldn't that at least be a "warning" to other potential filers?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</blockquote>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>The <em><i><font face="Times New Roman">Weitz</font></i></em>
lawsuit is styled as one seeking a "declaratory judgment and injunctive
relief." The declaratory judgment portion of the lawsuit asks the
judge to do precisely what you suggest. That is what is happening. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>One may seek an opinion on the merits of an issue of <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Idaho</st1:place></st1:State> law from the
Attorney General, but this is only "authority" in support of whatever
position the A.G. decides is the correct outcome under! the law, and not
"precedent." A judge, and the ultimate arbiters of state law
questions, the Idaho Supreme Court, would be free to decide this case
differently from the opinon issued by the Attorney General, and the court
system's answer would be the final say.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>As authority but not precedent, an Attorney General
opinion will suggest an answer but it could be "wrong" in the eyes of
a later reviewing judge. I suppose an A.G. Opinion could
"warn" of a probable outcome, but it will not carry any weight in
terms of forcing those, who might bring a lawsuit that suggests an answer
different from the A.G. Opinion, to face any additional consequences for doing
so than already exists under existing law. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>I suppose the upshot of this is that the declaratory
judgment action is designed to get to an official statement of what the law
is. An A.G. Opinion or Idaho Tax Commission ruling will merely suggest
what the law possibly/probably i! s. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>BJ Swanson has suggested that the parties mediate and
agree to abide by the answers suggested by the Attorney General and the Idaho
Tax Commission. As I think about this, a potential problem arises,
one raised by Gary Crabtree and Sue Hovey already, i.e., the lack of binding
effect on non-parties. Entering into such an agreement would bind the MSD
and Dr. Weitz from contesting the decisions of the government agencies, but
other concerned citizens could still contest the validity or invalidity of the
outcome reached in the proposed mediation decision.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Until thinking the process through in writing this
answer, I had been initially receptive to BJ Swanson's mediation suggestion,
but the lack of a decisive answer that could come from mediation gives me
pause. On the other hand, a year (or three or five) of operating the
Moscow Schools without the significant portion of the money (a fifth, a
quarter, a third?) that is provided by the indefinite, per! manent supplemental
levy, will be so harmful to our children, schools, and this town as a
whole that I hate to contemplate it. What alternatives do others
see?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Moscow's attractiveness to business and prospects for
growth with people that value and support public schools would seem to be
damaged significantly in the near term by this lawsuit. I think that
Dr. Weitz is hoping, somehow, to help the schools in the long run
with his lawsuit by forcing a re-vote ultimately of money for the schools
and hoping to see money allocated for his pet projects. However, it seems
unlikely to me that there is much hope for that prospect to amount to
much for a very long time, no matter how favorable the outcome from Dr.
Weitz's perspective, given the short term damage. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>That is why I think his approach was misguided and
unhelpful, no matter how much I support Dr. Weitz's desire
to increase professional technical education ("PTE") offerings
for our ! children in the <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:City>
public schools. I fear the backlash against his approach will damage the
long-term prospects for needed PTE offerings in which the <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:City> schools indisputably <em><i><font
face="Times New Roman">are</font></i></em> lacking. (Assuming that
Dr.Weitz's lawsuit had not been filed, I note that some new PTE
programs that came out of November's MCA forum were being put into place at the
alternative school. I hope that still happens. Those
courses need to be made available to the kids at the high school, too, and
not be stigmatized as "just" alternative school offerings, but I am
willing to get there with smaller steps that will allow some experimentation
and time to establish a track record of success.)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>I fear that the only folks unharmed by this
lawsuit are those to whom the public schools are unimportant, because
the the lawsuit will not damage their thoughts about whether <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:City> is a good place to
live or establish a business. For the rest of us, the day this
lawsuit w! as filed remains a dark day. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Bruce Livingston<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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