Chuck Basye wins lawsuit against Columbia Public Schools, will be on school board ballot
In ruling in favor of Chuck Basye in his lawsuit against Columbia Public Schools on Monday, District Judge Hasbrouck Jacobs said the school district violated state law in keeping Basye off the school board ballot.
"I'm very satisfied," Basye said outside the courtroom. "I think that's the right decision."
The school board election is April 4.
Basye said he wasn't sure of the procedure from here, but he is confident that he will be on the ballot. The lawsuit already has cost him time, he said.
"I'm already at a disadvantage," Basye said. "I already missed one forum."
Jacobs made his ruling at the end of a bench trial.
Basye, a former state representative, had tried to file as a candidate on Dec. 27, the last day to file. The school district's notice of candidacy filing required prospective candidates to make an appointment to file on the last day by Dec. 22, because district offices otherwise would be closed on Dec. 27. Basye didn't make an appointment.
The state law says the district "shall" accept candidate filings until 5 p.m. on the 17th Tuesday before the election, argued Basye's attorney, Brent Haden.
"The statue says what it says," Haden said.
To rule otherwise would allow public entities to set arbitrary rules for candidate filing, he said.
"It allows all sorts of political subdivisions to use this as a subversion of democracy and mischief," Haden said.
It could be used to keep critics from filing for school board, as seemed to be the situation with Basye, Haden said. Basye as a state representative was an outspoken critic of the school district.
The district had a procedure for Basye to file on Dec. 27 and Basye didn't follow it, said Natalie Hoernschemeyer, representing CPS.
"They did not file this notice of candidacy filing to be an impossible task," Hoernschemeyer said. "Seven individuals did it and did it successfully."
A candidate could have filed on the final day, she said.
"Even when the district was closed, they still allowed an avenue to file," she said.
To use Haden's argument would require the school district to staff its office 24-7 for the three weeks the candidacy filing is open, Hoernschemeyer said.
In a statement emailed by CPS spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark on Monday there was no acknowledgement that the district broke the law.
"When an issue arose at the end of this filing period, the district remained consistent with current procedures for all candidates rather than change them for certain individuals," Baumstark wrote.
The state legislature is working on a solution, she wrote.
"The district is pleased that this issue appears to be on the legislative agenda for this session, with the General Assembly already introducing bills to make the candidate filing process for board elections clearer and more uniform for school districts across Missouri," Baumstark wrote.
The judge was scheduled to issue a court order to place Basye on the April school board ballot, Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said Tuesday. That was expected by 5 p.m. Tuesday. The only possible hitch is if the school district appeals, she said.
Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on Twitter at @rmckinney9.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Judge: CPS violated state law with its candidate filing rules
