A King County Superior Court judge will take until the end of the month before deciding whether to dismiss a civil lawsuit brought by Kent School Board member Donald Cook against the Kent School District.
Cook, and district resident and parent Greta Nelson, filed the suit in March in response to a controversial resolution adopted in February by the school board to restrict Cook from participating in union contract discussions.
Judge Nicholas Straley heard arguments from both sides on Friday, Sept. 6 at the King County Courthouse in Seattle after district attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case.
“I’m going to take the motion under advisement,” Straley said at the end of the 43-minute hearing.
Steve DeJulio, a district attorney of Seattle-based Foster Garvey, claimed in court the plaintiffs missed the 30-day filing deadline by a day and therefore the case should be dismissed.
Straley asked Luke Hackenberg, an attorney for Cook from Seattle-based Cedar Law, to submit a briefing about the deadline and why that shouldn’t impact the case. The judge said he wanted that briefing by Sept. 13 and that DeJulio would have until Sept. 20 to respond to that filing. Hackenberg could then reply to DeJulio’s filing by Sept. 24.
Straley also will consider a motion to amend by the plaintiffs, issues in terms of censure and other questions about first amendment rights violations against Cook. Straley said no more oral arguments would be needed, so he plans to read all the material submitted by both sides and make a decision on or after Sept. 25.
The basis of the lawsuit is to get the school board to repeal the resolution that formed a Labor Policy Committee of four of the five board members, excluding Cook. The committee deals with contracts with teachers, bus drivers, office workers and others. The board excluded Cook because his wife teaches in the district and said that could create bias in negotiating all contracts, not just teachers.
Cook has said since he was elected last year he would recuse himself from voting or talks about the teachers union contract. But Cook and Nelson said he should be allowed to participate in other labor group negotiations. Nelson has since dropped her name from the case as the resolution impacts Cook as a board member more so than her as a district resident and voter.
The suit is against the district, Superintendent Israel Vela and Board President Meghin Margel. The board voted 3-2 in February to form the new committee that excluded Cook. Margel, Tim Clark and Awale Farah voted in favor. Cook and Andy Song were against it.
DeJulio argued the court should dismiss the case because Cook missed the 30-day deadline to file his notice of appeal with the superintendent after the board’s vote to adopt Resolution 1669.
Hackenberg responded that the 30-day deadline is a notice requirement and not a filing requirement and that the court should deny the motion to dismiss.
Hackenberg also argued that the resolution “targeted” Cook and stopped him from doing his elective duties and fulfill his campaign promises. The resolution prohibited Cook from contract discussions with nine district unions.
Cook also had his personal rights impacted, Hackenberg said, including his constitutional rights to free speech and expression without government interference, retaliation or punishment.
DeJulio argued that Cook has not had his constitutional rights violated and that the resolution only kept him from labor contract discussions.
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