SEE LAWSUIT

School Board President Mike Peterson.

FILE PHOTO Williams had with Wise before his termination at a Feb. 4 special meeting proves Peterson asked Wise to resign, indicating the decision had been made outside of public meetings.

The latest fi ling from attorneys representing the board directors disputes this and claims the tape actually shows that though Peterson was “committed to a new direction,” he only asked Wise to “consider his future.”

Additionally, the board’s attorneys argue that one-on-one conversations are allowed under the Colorado Open Meetings Law, which requires meetings of three or more members to be public and limits elected offi cials from taking public action outside of the meetings.

“While debating the issue may conceivably violate the COML, as that would be something a court may want to be in public, merely learning two or more directors’ position on a public issue could be treated differently than having multiple lengthy debates on an issue, and should be permitted,” the fi ling reads. “As noted above, learning the positions of multiple members of a local public body helps that person to understand where people are coming from as the member prepares for a public meeting.”

Ultimately, the fi ling states that if the judge fi nds the directors did violate the open meetings law in their conversations with Wise, any violations would have been rectifi ed when the decision was formalized at the Feb. 4 special meeting. Wise was fi red on a 4-3 vote, with board directors Elizabeth Hanson, Susan Meek and David Ray dissenting.

“Just because the majority did not change their minds does not mean the meeting did not cure the issue,” the fi ling said. “A cure occurs when the local public body holds properly noticed meeting, debates the issue at hand and comes to a decision through a proper vote. All three of those things happened.”

Judge Holmes will decide the next step of the lawsuit by either granting Marshall’s request for a permanent ruling on the board’s open meetings law violations or by a threeday trial.

Douglas County School District also faces litigation from Wise, who claims the district’s fi ring was discriminatory.

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