The trial of a lawsuit accusing the Bossier Parish school district of misconduct in a campaign for three April tax measures was concluded shortly after the lunch hour.
Judge Jeff Cox said he would rule by Tuesday in the case that centered on whether the School Board and its employees intentionally misrepresented the nature of a $210 million property tax to fund school construction in the steadily growing parish. Cox steered the trial away from another allegation by plaintiff attorney John Settle who alleged that the district misused taxpayer dollars and resources to campaign for three April 21 tax measures. Instead, the central issue became whether there was  intentional misrepresentation of the impact on property owners' pocketbooks. School Board attorney Jon Guice said the lawsuit has already been settled at the ballot box. Guice previously told KTBS that case law has held that even if some part of Settle's lawsuit was upheld by a judge, the results of the election would not be voided. Rather the issue of misconduct would be referred to the District Attorney.
The question was whether the school construction millage, the only measure to pass, was improperly portrayed as a tax renewal rather than as a new tax and a tax increase. The 13.55-mill tax  was the same rate as a current tax that was approved to fund new schools built in the past decade, including a new campus for Parkway High. The argument presented Monday by Settle noted that the increases in population and property assessments since that the old millage was approved meant that the April 21 proposal was not only a new tax but a tax increase.
An April 21 measure for technology and another for pay raises, both presented as tax increases, failed. All the votes were close and Settle's argument, in part, is that the question of renewal vs. tax increase could have made the difference in the construction bond's success with voters.
One of Settle's witnesses, the executive director of the nonprofit Alliance for Education, testified that he believed the manner in which the proposal was presented to the voters was a misrepresentation. The Alliance historically has worked with area school boards to help make the case for school funding but in past months has openly opposed tax efforts in both Bossier and Caddo.
The case began Monday morning in Bossier-Webster District Court in Benton with Cox rejecting a request for his recusal. Settle contended that Cox had a number of relationships with members of the district through employees and through his church that could compromise his impartiality.
Settle's suit had also accused the district of buying billboards and using district emails to convince voters and to pressure employees into supporting the measures. Bossier school officials would not comment about the case after the conclusion of testimony.