CBSD banned a resident from board meetings over weapons allegations. Will the ban stick?

A Central Bucks man is waiting to learn if he will continue to be banned from school board meetings after allegations he brought a weapon to a meeting earlier this year.

The incident involving James Del Rio occurred in March, but neither the Central Bucks School District nor the school board has publicly addressed the incident. Board President Dana Hunter has recently stated it was "never proven" Del Rio had a firearm and confirming his being banned from meetings.

Here is what we know about what happened then, and what is happening now.

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Did a man bring a weapon to CBSD school board meeting?

During the March 14 meeting someone in the meeting audience reported to police seeing a firearm concealed on Del Rio. After the meeting ended, police stopped Del Rio in the parking lot and questioned him.

Exactly what happened with the police confrontation is unknown, but Del Rio was not arrested or charged with a crime.

In a March 15 letter to the CBSD director of operations, Doylestown Township Police Chief Dean Logan wrote that his department conducted additional inquiries about the incident and reviewed it with the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, according to a copy of the letter.

Logan's letter did not specifically say Del Rio possessed a weapon, but he stated that the DA determined possession of a "firearm" on school property, including the Education Center where public board meetings are held, is a misdemeanor offense.

“In this incident, the District Attorney’s Office does not endorse the filing of charges and recommends that the school district take steps to post on the premises and on social media platforms that these actions are unlawful,” Logan wrote.

Logan added that he would be “personally” reaching out to Del Rio to advise him that his action at the meeting had been reviewed “and deemed criminal in nature and that any further violations will result in criminal charges," the letter said.

In an email, Logan confirmed the authenticity of the letter and that it is his department’s position that Del Rio possessed a prohibited weapon at the March meeting.

The district immediately posted signs at the Weldon Road administration building notifying the public that possessing weapons on the grounds is illegal.

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Who is the man banned from CBSD school board meetings?

Eight days after the March meeting, Central Bucks School District Solicitor Jeffrey Garton sent Del Rio a letter notifying him that he violated the law, according to a copy of the letter, which Garton authenticated.

In the letter, Garton did not specifically accuse Del Rio of possessing a weapon at the March meeting, but he reiterated that the District Attorney’s Office investigation determined that “possession of a firearm and knife on school property including the Education Center” violates the law.

“I have been advised by the Central Bucks School District to notify you that you are not permitted to attend future school board or committee meetings,” Garton wrote.

The letter stated Del Rio, who has children in district schools, could continue to attend events involving his children in school buildings, but specified that he may not bring a weapon on school property while attending those events.

Garton has not responded to emailed questions asking on whose authority Del Rio was restricted from attending board meetings and what grounds the district used to restrict someone from attending a public meeting.

What does James Del Rio say?

Del Rio filed notice called a Writ of Summons on June 30 with the Bucks County Common Pleas Court that he intended to file a complaint seeking a "declaratory judgement" against the Central Bucks School District.

As of Oct. 25 no complaint had been filed and no other details provided in the petition.

Attorney Chadwick Schnee, who represents Del Rio, declined comment citing a pending decision in a due process hearing the district held on the matter.

In an email, Schnee referred a reporter to comments about the incident he made in a March Philadelphia Inquirer story where he stated his client “absolutely 100%” did not have a gun at the March meeting. Schnee also claimed  police stopped Del Rio outside the meeting, but did not search him.

District solicitor Garton confirmed a due process meeting for Del Rio was held on Aug. 30 and that a decision has not been released. He did not respond to questions seeking further details of that hearing.

Can a government agency prevent someone from attending a public meeting?

The short answer appears to be that school district most likely cannot impose permanent meeting restrictions without a court order, according to experts in the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act.

“If the school board wants to ban someone permanently from school property, they need to get an injunction from a court of law,” said Melissa Melewsky, staff attorney for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.

Melewsky added that any due process hearing would likely be a “precursor” to litigation, “not the final say.”

Attorney Joy Ramsingh could find no state precedent on the issue. She is a former Pennsylvania Office of Open Records appeals officer now in private practice in Harrisburg.

She added that other jurisdictions have held that individuals with a criminal history, history of threatening or harassing school employees may be barred from attending public meetings to protect the public.

But Ramsingh said also agreed that it's unlikely a district can legally impose a permanent meeting ban on someone, assuming the person does not bring weapons on school grounds and does not display threatening or hostile behavior.

“A permanent bar on someone’s legal right to attend a public meeting must be properly justified with supportive facts,” she added. “The fact that (Del Rio) is attending his child’s school or other school functions tends to support the idea that he is not a true threat at public meetings.”

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: CBSD silent on why it banned a resident from school board meetings.