Bettendorf schools to pay $6,500 after blocking media from student safety public meeting
Bettendorf school officials have agreed to settle a claim that they unlawfully prevented journalists from attending a high-profile public meeting last year on the topic of school safety.
The May 25, 2022, forum, held the day after a mass shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas, focused on school safety concerns, including parent complaints about violent incidents the prior year at one of the district's middle schools.
About 300 parents and community members attended the meeting with the district's superintendent and all but one member of the elected School Board, according to a news release from the Iowa Freedom of Information Council. Journalists, though, were turned away, a lawsuit filed by the council, the Quad-City Times and television stations KWQC, WQAD and WHBF alleges. The suit says school district staff stationed at entrances blocked reporters and news photographers from entering the room.
According to the settlement agreement, dated June 8 and provided to the Des Moines Register by the council, the School Board acknowledges the event "did not meet the notice and other requirements of" Iowa's public meeting law and pledges to follow the law for future meetings. The district also is paying $6,500 to cover the plaintiffs' legal costs.
Court records show the lawsuit was officially dismissed Monday.
An attorney for the district did not respond to a message seeking comment. Randy Evans, executive director of the Freedom of Information Council, said in a statement said he appreciates the district changing course, especially given the crucially important subject matter of the meeting.
"There is no greater obligation of a school district these days than ensuring students have a safe environment in which to learn. But the Bettendorf school board and school administrators let the public down by not properly conducting the school board’s meeting on May 25, 2022 in compliance with Iowa law," Evans said.
If the case had gone to trial, district officials could have been fined up to $2,500 and been held personally liable for the plaintiffs' legal fees.
The settlement comes as Gov. Kim Reynolds' office also recently settled several public records lawsuits, one of which also involved the Freedom of Information Council, for $175,000.
"No government entity can earn the trust, respect, and confidence of the people it serves when government officials try to prevent the public from attending a meeting like the one held in May 2022," Evans said.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Bettendorf schools admit to breaking open meeting law in 2022
