Montgomery County School Board Votes to Consider Legal Complaint Against City of Clinton | News, Sports, Work

In front of a room full of concerned citizens, the Montgomery County School Board voted retrospectively in a special meeting Tuesday to approve an appeal of a land use proposal rejected by the Clinton Township Board of Supervisors and a complaint for damages from the township. night.

During public comment, board member Holly Wertz spoke against voting to continue the lawsuit.

“It makes absolutely no sense for one governing body to sue another governing body where you want to build a school, let alone the city of Clinton, which is not costing the school more money.” Wertz said.

“The school’s decisions are fiscally irresponsible with your tax dollars when it comes to attorneys’ fees, engineering fees, architectural fees and advertising, and general foundation expenses.” she went on to add that any members who support the lawsuit are also being irresponsible with the community’s tax dollars.

Nearly 50 community members attended the meeting, a stark contrast to many board meetings, which are usually sparsely attended.

Several people present spoke against the decision to sue.

“If Clinton Township Board members approve the lawsuit, aren’t they actually suing themselves?” asked resident Debbie Stein.

“I just want you to know that you’re not suing Clinton Township, you’re suing me as a taxpayer.” Edna M. suggested. Riddell.

“This is the face of the people. It is not a group or organization. You are suing the residents of our city.” she said.

“This was the only way for the district to appeal against the refusal to approve the land-use project,” said District Attorney Thomas S. Marshall, explaining the legal process in detail.

The meeting was contentious, with several residents standing outside the line and yelling at Marshall, board members and other school board members, prompting board president Paul Stryker Jr. to slam his gavel and call for order several times.

“They are asking the court to issue a non-appealable judgment approving the preliminary final land development plan and to award $137,000 in damages for each month of delay. It’s like giving the court a blank check with attorneys’ fees and costs.” board member Roger McRae said he opposes the lawsuit.

“I’m actually glad there’s a lot of people here.” said board member John DeSantis before launching into a lengthy explanation of how it all came to trial.

“If we had followed the timeline and schedule that we originally proposed starting 10 years ago, we would have moved into this building this August. Then we can take the excess $1.5 million in bonds that will be paid off at that time and start applying that to that part of the building so it can be renovated.” he explained.

“The only reason we have to go to court and say, ‘You need to make Clinton Township do what they have to do by law,’ is because there are a handful of people who have done nothing but caused anything to be delayed. reason. And there’s the same small group of people involved in all these organizations that are causing the delays.” DeSantis said.

DeSantis emphasized that while the cost of the project is expected to change little from the original estimate, the continued delays have resulted in additional costs.

In light of the perceived vagueness of the board’s agenda, DeSantis noted that not only is the agenda available on the county’s website at least 24 hours before the meeting, but so are all agreements, contracts and other matters that must be voted on.

Although Scott T. Williams, a non-resident solicitor for Clinton Township and the Montgomery Water Authority, received time from the board as a resident representative.

While Marshall was correct in his assertion that a lawsuit was the only way to challenge the city’s denials, Williams questioned the merits of filing a lawsuit rather than correcting any deficiencies the city cited in its denial.

“The Urban Development Commission is the entity that reviews this and makes recommendations to the supervisory authorities about what the supervisor should do. They have some experience in such things.” said Williams.

“It sounds to me like you’re voting on whether or not the supervisors should ignore the advice and recommendations of their own planning commission and just approve your plan because that board threatens some legal challenge,” he said, asking the board if they had considered the reasons for the rejection when formulating their next steps.

“I think the approval of this permission to file this lawsuit will really cause more delays than it will fix the deficiencies that are in the plan itself.” he urged.

The lack of an initial approval vote was the subject of a motion to dismiss the lawsuit being heard by Lycoming County Circuit Judge Eric Linhardt on Monday afternoon.

Representing the city, attorney Zachary Dugan, a Williams partner, argued the board did not hold a public approval vote before filing the application, which he said was required under the state’s Sunshine Act.

The law requires agencies to discuss and take formal action in an open and public meeting, of which the community must be notified in advance and have an opportunity to attend, participate, and comment before formal action is taken.

However, attorney Noah F. Roux, who represents the district, emphasized that the law also allows such violations to be corrected by holding public meetings at which previously implemented measures are approved.

Roux also argued that the motion to dismiss was not filed within the required 30-day window, while noting that while the school district itself is not designated as an agency under the Sunshine Act, the board is but was not named as a party within the motion.

In addition, a simple complaint is not considered “official act” for purposes of the Sunshine Act, Roux said, although Dugan emphasized his position that the fees associated with filing the complaint would allow “official act”.

The dismissal also would have forced the county out of the appeals process, requiring the entire process to start over, Roux told Linhardt.

Dugan disputed that the city responded within days of learning of the complaint in mid-December, saying the city had no idea such a complaint was in the works, although Roux claimed the city received a copy shortly after it was filed.

By not holding a public hearing before taking action, the county sought to do so “shift the burden of responsibility”, Dugan said.

“The city should not be penalized for doing the district’s work for them.” he told the judge.

Citing a scheduled court date of Jan. 22, Linhardt said he would work toward a speedy ruling.

Bidding for the project is expected to begin at 1 p.m. Wednesday and will be open to the public.

Other actions taken at the meeting include accepting the respective resignations of Kaylee Hood as a fifth grade teacher effective February 4, 2025 and Nathan Crawford as a high school chemistry/biology teacher effective February 14, 2025.

Asked by McRae for comment on Monday’s school bus crash on Brause Road in Clinton Township, Superintendent Daphne Bowers said the bus driver momentarily lowered his eyes, causing the bus to veer off the road and hit a utility pole.

“Thank God we had the Clinton Township Fire Company and Todd Winder sitting here because in this community, when we have an emergency, people show up and they take care of each other.” she said. “Thank God, the children were safe. The response from PP&L and the State Police was quick and we were able to get the students off the bus and onto another bus. By five o’clock, the administration returned here to talk to all the parents.”

The next school board meeting will be held at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, January 21st.