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  • Wood V District 93

    Enviado por

    Jeff Robinson
    130 visualizações16 páginas
    Kim's Wood lawsuit against Bonneville Joint School District 93, challenging the constitutionality of some fees the district charges.

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    Wood v District 93

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    Kim's Wood lawsuit against Bonneville Joint School District 93, challenging the constitutionality of some fees the district charges.

    Direitos autorais:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Baixe no formato PDF ou leia online no Scribd
    Sinalizar o conteúdo como inadequado
    130 visualizações16 páginas

    Wood V District 93

    Enviado por

    Jeff Robinson
    Kim's Wood lawsuit against Bonneville Joint School District 93, challenging the constitutionality of some fees the district charges.

    Direitos autorais:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Baixe no formato PDF ou leia online no Scribd
    Sinalizar o conteúdo como inadequado
    de 16
    Robert C. Huntley, Hq. 8 No. 94 HUNTLEY LAW, PLtc 815 W. Washington Street P.O. Box 2188 Boise, Idaho 83701 ‘Telepbone: 208-388-1230 shuntley@huntleylaw.com ‘Attorneys for Plaintiffs Case Assigned to Joel E. Tingey 1. Jason Wood, 9,188 No 5016 ‘Woop Law GROUP, re 1906 Jennie Lee Drive ato Falls, dao 83404 ‘Telephone: 208-497-0400 Jason@woodlaw.not - COPY IN THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF THE STATE OF IDAHO IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF BONNEVILLE KIM A. WOOD, Individually as Patron of| Bonneville Joint School Distict No. 93 and as natural parent and Guardian Ad Litem of her ‘minor children, Logan Jones and Peyton Jones, AND on behalf of all Similarly Situated Patrons and| Students of Bonneville Joint Schoo! District No. 93, Plains, BONNEVILLE JOINT SCHOOL. DISTRICT] ‘COMPLAINT FOR CLASS ACTION, DECLARATORY JUDGMENT, [RESTITUTION AND OTHER RELIEF Fee Category: AA Fee: $221.00 ‘As and for cause of action against the defendant, Bonneville Joint School District No. 93, PlaintifT Kim A. Wood alleges as follows: ‘COMPLAINT FOR CLASS ACTION DECLARATORY JUDGMENT, RESTITUTION, AND OTHER RELIEF 1. durisdietion and Venue JIusietion lie inthis Court under Antle TX, Section 1 ofthe Constitution ofthe State of Maho. Vene fies inthis Court agnnst defendant Bonneville Joint School District No. 98 (hereinafter “Distiet 93", whichis located in Bonneville County, Kaho. M Partis (A) Posie Pai: Kio, Wood sand was, al ines material hereto the pret and pcan Ad Litem of or eildce, Logan Jones (now 19 years old) and Peyton High Jones (17 years old), Logan Jones was enrolled in District 93 at Bonneil ‘School ftom 2013 uatil his graduation in 2016, Peyton was enrolled at District 93, at Cloverdale Elementary School in 2013, Rocky Mountain Middle Schoo! from 2013-2015, Bonneville High School in 2015.2016, Hillerest High Schoo! in 2016, | ‘and from 2017 until the present hes been and is currently enrofled in Bonneville High School. Ms. Wood brings this setion for herself as patron of Distict 93 and and as "Class Representatives" on bebalf of all parents/patrons and students in | District 93. (8) Party Defendant: District 93 is a municipal corporation of the State of Idaho located in Bonneville County, Idsho. (©) Future Parties Defendant: Pursuant to the provisions of the Constitutionally | Based Educational Claims Act (CBECA), Idaho Code §6-2201 et seg, Plaintiffs | reserve the right t seek leave to add the State of Idaho, the Maho State Leislature, the Maho State Board of Education, andthe Superintendent of Public Instruction as Parties Defendant, ‘COMPLAINTFOR CLASSACTION, DECLARATORY JUDGMENT, RESTITUTION, AND OTHER RELIEF | CLAIM FOR DECLARATORY JUDGMENT (dah Code §10-1201, et sen.) 1, Plaintiffs bring this action against District 93 for themselves as patrons and ct 93, and 9s a Class Action on behalf of all schoolchildren, grades K through 12 parents of Di cenvolled in District 93 in the 2012-2013 and subsequent school years, and on behalf of their ‘parents and guardians, to enfore the "free common schoo!” provision of Artiele IX, Section 1 of the Constitution ofthe State of Tdaho which reads as follows: Legislature to establish system of free public schools. ‘The stability ofa republican form of government depending mainly upon. the intelligence of the people, it shall bo the duty of the legislature of Idaho, to establish and maintain @ general, uniform, and thorough system of public, free common schools. (Emphasis supplied.) 2, Plain’ claims are also besed upon the fact that the fees nssessed and collected constitute a taking of private property for public se without just compensation and a deprivation ‘of property without due process of lay, in violation ofthe Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America, £2 U.S.C. § 1983, and Article I, Seetion 14 of the Tésho Constitution Plaintiff has a right and standing to sue both as a constitutional claim directly under Article IX, Section 1 of the Idaho Constitution, under Article I, Section 14 of the Idaho Constitution, under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United ‘States of America, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and also, concurrently, asa claim under CBECA, on the basis of the ruling ofthe Idaho Supreme Court in Jok! v. Stat, 162 Idaho 5 (2017), whi provides in pat s follows: ‘COMPLAINT FOR CLASSACTION, DECI ARATORY JUDGMENT, RESTITUTION, AND OTHE RELIEF {A} patron [who has obtained authorization from a district to add a state defeedant} may being a sait agninst the state “on the ground thatthe state ‘has not established and maintained a general, uniform and thorough system of ‘Publi, free common schools.” 1d. at 52; ~and “I follows that in order for an educational service to satisfy CBECA it ust be fee. Accordingly, Joki's claim relating to the fees levied by the school districts falls squarely within the definition of a constitutionally based ‘educational claim eeause the legislature's duty is (o provide free common schools.” [dat 53-54 (emphasis supplied), 4. In contravention of the constitutional requirement to provide fice common rots have been grossly underfunded by the schools, District 93 and many other Idsho school State Legislature and have been engaging inthe practice of levying fees upon their students and their families for various couse work, electives, supplies and other fees ancl charges, both “curicula," “co-curricular,” and “extracurricular,” in violation ofthe Idaho Constitution, 5, Idaho i ranked the lowest state in the nation in per capita funding of ts schools. ‘That fet does not arise from necessity. Historically, the Legislature and people of Kdaho strongly supported the institution of the Sales and Use Tax in 1965, primarily for the purpose of adequutely funding Education. At the time of implementation, the Sales and Use Tax contained ‘only 17 exemptions, which exemptions were in place forthe purpose of exempting sales prior to “sales at retail” (thus distinguishing it ftom a “value added” tax), 6. Since tha time, year after year the Idaho Legislature has added new exemptions to the Sales and Use Tax, to the point where there are now more than 102 exemptions, with the result that the exemptions have a value of approximately $1.9 Billion, whereas the tx itself as now imposed provides the State with only spproximately $1.2 Billion in revenue. This has “COMPLAINT FOR CLASSACTION, DCLARATORY JUDGMENT, RESTITUTION, AND OTHER RELIEF resulted in increased financial burdens on District 93 and other schools at time when limitations ‘upon Jocal taxing authority have made it diffieult for District 93 and other school districts to provide free publie schools as required by the Kaho Consttuion.! 7. Additionally, over the past twenty years Idaho has enacted legislation adding ‘exemptions and other reductions to the corporate and individual Income Tax rates, thus further reducing the funds available for education appropriately supplied from the General Fund, 8. While reducing general find tx colletions as tated in paragraphs 4 and 5 above, the State has reduced the authority of school districts to raise revenues through local property taxes. 9. The Idaho Supreme Court in Paulson v. Minidoka County Schoo! District No. 331, 98 Idabo 469 (1970), ruled thatthe levying of certain fees upon the students violated the ‘constitutional mandate to provide fee common schools, infer alia: + “Because the Appellants’ [Minidoka County Schoo! District No. 331) High School is ‘common schoo,” it must, by constitutional command, be “fie.” + “One-half ofthe $25 fe is assigned as a payment for what Appellants themselves call extra-curricular activities, If a student of Minidoka County High School ‘wishes a transcript of his scholastic achievement he must pay the entire $25, one- half of which is expressly consigned to fund extra-curricular activites. lems " Plaintiff reluctantly brings this action to require that the school distict refund ‘unconstitutional foes charged against the students and their families, but do so with the ‘understanding that the Legislanze can remedy the situation by restoring the tax base and reimburse the school disirite for any foor retumed to tho studento though a supplemental appropriation in the year 2018 or subsequent Legislative sessions, 2 ‘The Idaho Supreme Cour, in Idaho Schools for Equal Opportunity v. State of Idaho, 142 Idsha 450 (200) entered Judgment thatthe then-present system of funding schools was inadequate fo meet the constitutional mandate required of the Legislature. Now, twelve years later, the Legislature has taken no corrective action, and infact, during that period, other statutes have farther debased funding for Ideho’s schools, 5 COMPLAINT FORCLASS ACTION DECLARATORY JUDOMENT, RESTITUTION, AND OTHER RELIEF ‘which are “extra-curricular” ee, by definition outside of or in addition to the regular academic courses or curriculum of a school. A levy for such purposes, yposed genoraly on all students whether they participate in extra-curricular activites or not, becomes a charge on altendance at the school. Such a charge ‘contravenes the constitutional mandate that the school be free, (Emphasis ‘ded. + “Texthook fes...ae indistinguishable from other fixed educational expense items sch as school building maintenance or teachers’ salaries. The Appellants may ‘not charge students for such tems because the common schools ae to be “ree” as ‘our constitution requizes + (Parapheased) The Court held that a charge for transcripts was a necessary part of the “entire product to be received by the student” and it must be “fee,” and | that the school could not withhold a students tanseript to coerce payment of the ump sun $25 fe. Ht 472-7. | 10, Idaho Code § 33-603 wnconstitutionally provides, in part, 2s follows: | Payment offes or returning of property. The board of tastes of each | schoo! district shall have the power and the ability to require as @ condition of graduation, as 8 condition of issuance of a diploma or a certification, ot as a ‘condition for isuance of a transcrip, that any’ and all indebtedness incurred by the person when helshe was a student be satisfied, or that all books or other | instuetional material, uniforms, athletic equipment, advances on loans, or other rersonal property of the schoo distet borrowed by the person when he was & | Sent ofthe dst, be retumed. (As amended by SL. 1992, ch. 112, §1; SL | 1996, ch. 138, 61. 11, Plaintiff, through this action, seeks return or restitution of fees unconsttutionaly ‘assessed and paid forthe 2012-2013 and subsequent school years, and Declaratory Judgment and other relief fiom the eusrent unconstitutional fee imposition practices, and/or damages rising therefrom. Unconstitutional fees have been assessed against and paid on behalf of Logan and Poyton Jones for which PlaintifT's entitled tobe reimbursed, and unless and until the assessment of unconstitutional fees is diseontinued Plaintiff and the Class will be assessed and required to | ‘COML-AINT FORCLASSACTION DECLARATORY JUDGMENT, RESTITUTION AND OTHER RELIEF ay such unconstitutional fees throughout the couse of their matriculation though the grade loves st Distt 98 fom Kindergarten through grade 12. 12, Plain, and all other parents and guardians with stents enrolled, previously carole, o¢ son obs enrol in Distt 93, are, have been, andor wil be suhjected fo multiple communications from District 93 regiing the payment of fics asa condition for enoling in public schools as a part of the student registration process. Such communications include, bu fon websites, fee se not limited to, statements jn Repstation Materials, Pee Payment announcements by school administrators and teachers, inclusion of required fees in Student Handbooks, a school board policy, all of which compel Pint and all others similarly situated to pay fees that contravene the constittinal mandate for a fee public edvetion and ‘which amount to a form of coercion to pay for esentil and norm elemens ofa five public education, Such actions constitute impermissible establishment and collection of fees in of the State of violation of Article I, Section 14 and Article IX, Section 1 of the Consi ‘aho, the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution ofthe United States of America, and 2US.C. § 1983 13, Disteiet 93 also communicated and/or communicates the expectation that Plait, ‘and others similarly situated, shall purchase and provide school supplies which are not specifically sttached to individual student needs, a requirement that, even though deseribed at times as voluntary, is clearly communicated as being a requirement for the Plaintiff to enroll children in school, successflly attend, and complete school assignments. Plaintiff cannot distinguish supply lst puchases fiom fess and Plaintiff cannot, therefore, jeopardize attendance at school in order to avoid unwanted exposure to unfavorable notice by or criticism from school ‘COMPLAINT FORCLASS ACTION DECLARATORY JUDGMENT, RESTITUTION, AND OTHER RELIEF teachers and administrators. District 93 also has erestod a state-sponsored and state-

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