SIOUX CITY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER DAN GREENWELL HAS RELEASED A STATEMENT ON THE FILING OF THE APPEAL BRIEF REGARDING LEGAL FEES STEMMING FROM A LAWSUIT INVOLVING FORMER SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT DR. PAUL GAUSMAN.
IT IS NOT A STATEMENT BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OR SCHOOL BOARD.
The district court had never previously handled open meetings law nor closed session law.
The court was not familiar with the superintendent performance review standards or the performance review process. Ethical concerns are one of the state-required superintendent review criteria.
The court erred in several fundamental areas as outlined in the appeal brief.
Some of the facts we know.
- We followed the law when establishing the closed session and during the closed session.
- We followed the board policy before and during the closed session.
- We followed IPIB Advisory Opinions before and during the closed session.
- We followed outside guidance before and during the closed session.
- We made no decisions during the closed session except to seek advice from outside counsel.
Additionally, many of the court’s statements regarding process, good faith and attitude were not based on any facts or evidence submitted at trial.
The law is not about feelings. There still must be facts, not speculation or conjecture.
The court ignored or did not properly understand prior law precedents regarding closed meetings.
We believe the Appeals Court will reverse the numerous erroneous rulings made by the district court. We look forward to correcting the record.
KSCJ FILE PHOTO
