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Schools sued over pot bust in city parking lot
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - May 06, 2010)
Schools sued over pot bust in city parking lot
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
A Hambden Township mother has filed a lawsuit on behalf of her two sons, claiming they were unjustly expelled from Chardon schools.
Darlene Judd filed the civil suit on behalf of her sons, Paul and Peter, in April in Geauga County Common Pleas Court. The suit names School Superintendent Joseph Bergant II and the Chardon Board of Education as defendants.
The lawsuit seeks a reversal of the decision on expulsion and reimbursement for the cost of alternative education for her boys, attorney fees and other costs.
According to the lawsuit, the boys were suspended after Chardon police reported finding marijuana in a car after the boys parked in a city-owned lot. The lawsuit maintains that, because the offense did not occur on school grounds, the school district lacked the authority to issue the expulsion.
Mr. Bergant said, because the issue now involves litigation, he could not comment on it.
School board President Blake Rear also declined comment.
The lawsuit says that the boys initially were suspended for 10 days but then were expelled after a meeting with school officials.
"At the hearing, the assistant principal testified that the plaintiffs (the boys) pulled into a parking lot owned by the City of Chardon at about 6:45 a.m.," the suit says.
"The plaintiffs parked in a parking slot where there was a sign posted that stated that the parking lot was for city employees only," the suit says. "Within a few seconds of having parked, members of the Chardon Police Department approached the car and asked the boys to get out of the car. The plaintiffs exited the car and the car was searched by police. The police confiscated items from the car, including what has been alleged by the school to be marijuana."
According to the suit, testimony at the hearing "was undisputed" that the parking lot was not on school property but rather was located on city property across from the school.
The suit says the school holds an easement on the property for ingress and egress from the area.
"Testimony was also presented that indicated that the school had no other agreement with the city that gave them any other rights with regard to the property where the plaintiffs had parked," the suit says.
The suit says, because the incident did not occur on school grounds, the school district had no right to act on the matter.
The original 10-day suspension was extended to an expulsion for the remainder of the school year.
"The actions of the superintendent and the board were not in accordance with the school's written policy regarding suspension and expulsion, not authorized by Ohio law, constituted an abuse of the authority granted to the defendants by the law and violated the rights of the plaintiff under the Ohio and U.S. Constitutions," the suit says.
Mrs. Judd says in the suit that she has incurred expenses for finding alternative education because of the school district's actions, as well as attorney fees and other costs.
The suits asks the court to find school officials "did not follow proper procedures and acted outside the scope of their authority."
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