Shreveport-Bossier lawyer John Settle filed suit Wednesday challenging the Bossier Parish School Board election that will raise $210 million for school construction.
Settle has been waging a legal battle with the board since the spring election, alleging in part that the district improperly used taxpayer dollars to campaign for the bond issue. The lead-up to the lawsuit included Settle’s pursuit of emails and other documents he argues illustrate the district sought to influence the public and to encourage employees to support the bond issue. The 13.55-mill proposal narrowly passed. However, two other tax proposals, one for employee pay and the other for technology, failed in close votes.
Government bodies are allowed to disseminate “factual information’’ regarding tax proposals. Whether the School Board crossed that line through the use of LED billboards, the board’s website and district emails will comprise much of the case scheduled for Monday in Bossier-Webster District Court in Benton.
The construction bond issue was the district’s response to increasingly crowded schools created by growth and parish population shifts to the north and east.
Board attorney Jon Guice of Monroe argues that Settle is simply wrong on some points, such as the allegation that the board issued blue “Come Grow With Us’’ T-shirts to employees. Guice said the shirt maker has documents that indicate the shirts were ordered and paid for by individuals, such as teachers and parents, not the district.
But even if a judge finds merit in any of Settle’s legal challenges, Guice told KTBS, it would not disrupt the flow of construction dollars from the election.
“The courts have held if public funds were misused, that’s an issue for the district attorney (to pursue) and does not jeopardize the outcome” of an election,’’ Guice said.