(This week’s civic education and engagement column from Danville’s The Republican newspaper.)
It could have been any one of a remarkably long list of things, but whatever it was, it made the individual angry enough that they deployed their most fearsome weapon. “I’m gonna sue you and make you pay!”
Gotcha. Anything else I can do to help you out? They usually didn’t know what to say next. I know they were expecting me to break down and start saying please, please, oh please don’t sue us. But if you’ve been an elected official for any length of time, you react to most lawsuits with a simple shrug. The threat of a lawsuit doesn’t even rate the shrug.
I long ago lost count of just how many times I’d been sued in my capacity as a school board member. It’s a lot more than you’re probably assuming. Essentially, when any part of the school district gets sued, the school board is the ultimate target.
Most lawsuits are fairly straightforward and will be familiar to business owners. Things happen. Often, the reasons are legitimate. A school bus rear-ended you on an icy day. You slipped on the wet bleachers and broke two bones. (And then there was the personal injury law firm that tried to intimidate board members into quick settlements by personally serving them with documents at home. I chuckle every time I see one of their many TV commercials.)
Some legal actions can be a little more complex. I remember being served on three occasions with the formal notice that a parent or student had filed a federal complaint claiming a civil rights violation. Civil rights is an area that’s nearly always complex and messy, and if a case proceeds, win or lose, it’s going to be extraordinarily expensive. In all three situations, the federal Office of Civil Rights rejected the claim after an initial investigation.
When I’d end up in a conversation with an unhappy patron, sometimes they’d try to encourage me to take their side by threatening to talk with an attorney. My response always threw them. I’d say, if you truly believe your rights or those of your child have been violated, I think talking with an attorney would be the smartest move you could make. It usually took the wind out of their sails. “You do?”
Well, sure. I’m not nearly smart enough to be an attorney, but as a school board member, I spent more time dealing with them than most career criminals. I’ve also spent a bigger chunk of my adult life than I’d like sitting in legal seminars. So I have a pretty solid understanding of education law, and I know exactly what their attorney will tell them: “You don’t have a case.” Now, if I simply said that to them, they’d get even angrier and accuse me of intimidation. But if their attorney says it, well that’s that.
If you do want to sue your school board or the town, you’re legally required to warn them. The “I’m gonna sue you to oblivion” threat doesn’t count. Within 180 days of when whatever you allege happened, you (or preferably, your attorney) must file what’s known as a tort claim notice. That’s the first step in the process for pursuing your claim while protecting your legal rights. (Again, I’m not a lawyer, and this is a simplified explanation.)
One last important point to remember about suing local government. When I talk about all the costs associated, I’m primarily referring to legal fees that can quickly get well into five figures for a simple lawsuit. The school board or town council members don’t pay it. You’re the one paying all those attorneys through your tax dollars. Every dollar spent defending a lawsuit is a dollar that can’t be spent educating students.