Court to hear bond vote appeal

A group of Knox County, Neb., residents is asking the Nebraska Supreme Court to void the Verdigre school board's action ordering a $3.8 million school bond issue election, alleging that the board repeatedly violated the state's open meetings laws.

Voters passed the bond issue last November. The high court is to hear the appeal Wednesday.

The lawsuit says the board posted notice that it would hold a meeting in March 2008 “for school board members only.” The suit also alleges that at least six secret meetings of at least five of the six board members were held between April and August 2008.

School officials have denied that secret meetings were held.

The school improvements, which are on hold, included building a new junior-senior high, updating an elementary school and upgrading facilities to meet handicapped-accessibility rules.

Knox County District Judge Robert Ensz threw out the lawsuit in the spring, ruling that the complaint was moot because any judgment on open meetings violations would have had no effect on the election results. The residents appealed that ruling.

Their attorney, Thomas DeLay of Norfolk, said the school board is required to file notice that it has complied with all necessary steps to hold a bond issue election. One step is to hold legal meetings, he said.

The board's attorney, John Recknor of Lincoln, argues that even if a court found that the early 2008 meetings violated open meetings laws, no action was taken at them — meaning that the most a court could do was fine the school board members.