Forest Hills parent sues school board for kicking him out of a public meeting in March

A Forest Hills father is suing the school district after he was kicked out of a public school board meeting in March.

Daniel Loney said school board members silenced him during public comment because they don't like him or his opinions. Forest Hills leaders so dislike Loney, his complaint reads, that they referred to him as "Looney" when he was called to the podium.

"Why do conservatives, right-wingers, bigots, and oppressors go to such lengths to silence dissent? Easy. Because dissent works. I want to make sure it keeps working," Loney wrote in his complaint. "An idea expressed without tact is still an idea, impoliteness is not a disqualifier to freedom of speech, and hurt feelings don’t trump the First Amendment."

The school district is aware of the lawsuit but declined to comment further Wednesday afternoon.

Loney took to the podium March 20 as the first public commenter of the evening. He started by chastising Larry Hook, the superintendent, for prioritizing pool repairs.

"If somebody gave you $10 million you would spend it on a pool?" Loney said to Hook. The meeting was recorded and is available on the district's YouTube page. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

He paused, then continued with: "You racist vandal."

"Why don't you just leave?" Hook responded. Members of the board agreed, and a deputy escorted Loney out of the meeting.

"And don't come back," a board member said. The recording does not show who said this, but Loney's lawsuit claims it was Katie Stewart. Loney said the officer also threatened him with arrest.

It's unclear how pool renovations relate to racism. Loney, who has two teenage boys in the district, later told The Enquirer that, from his perspective, the school board has continued to enforce a controversial resolution that bans critical race theory, identity and other topics from curriculum and staff training even after the board rescinded this policy as part of a settlement agreement. Critical race theory is not taught at Forest Hills schools.

Loney is skeptical of Hook's leadership, too.

"We have this racist vandal spending seven figures of public money after proving he listens to a tiny minority of non-stakeholders to advance a racist agenda," Loney told The Enquirer, referring to Hook.

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Loney named Hook, Stewart, school board president Sara Jonas, deputy Jeffrey Weber and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office as defendants in his complaint, filed Wednesday morning by local attorney Richard Ganulin. Loney seeks an injunction, a declaration that the board's public comment policy is unconstitutional, to be compensated for his attorney's fees and other monetary relief "as the court deems appropriate."

The complaint is available at the end of this story or here.

The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office did not respond to The Enquirer's request for comment on the lawsuit.

Board used 'unfettered discretion' to define disorderly conduct, parent says

Forest Hills' public participation at board meetings policy states the school board may "request any individual to stop speaking and/or leave the meeting when that person does not observe reasonable decorum or is disruptive." The presiding officer, now board president Jonas, is allowed to request the assistance of law enforcement to remove individuals who are disorderly, according to the policy.

In Loney's complaint, Ganulin argues the board used "unfettered discretion" to determine what is respectful behavior at a public meeting. Loney was not disorderly or disruptive at the meeting, the document says, but merely engaged in "pure oral speech."

"The Forest Hills defendants did not want Loney to speak critically of them. They disagreed with the views expressed in Loney’s speech," the complaint reads.

The complaint also challenges the deputy who followed board orders and led Loney out of the meeting. According to the complaint, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office "erroneously claims that citizens’ free speech rights are too complicated for law enforcement officers to independently evaluate in real time" and that "special deputy sheriffs working off-duty law enforcement details act constitutionally when they do as they are told by the employing party."

Three weeks after the meeting, Loney got a letter in the mail from Hook. Loney shared this document with The Enquirer.

"We want you to be able to attend these meetings and share your thoughts and perspectives," Hook wrote. "Having a difference of opinion is entirely acceptable, but those views should be expressed respectfully to help foster an environment of civility and constructive dialogue."

Loney has not returned to a Forest Hills school board meeting since, for fear of retaliation or even arrest at Jonas' discretion.

“I don’t have the guts to be arrested, but I shouldn’t have to," Loney said.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Parent sues Forest Hills Local School District over freedom of speech