Immediately after the announcement of the new superintendent, the board will also discuss whether to fight a lawsuit filed against the Peterson bloc by Douglas County resident Robert Marshall; his motion for a preliminary injunction was granted earlier this month. That ruling, by 18th Judicial District Judge Jeffrey Holmes, gave credence to claims that Peterson and company had violated Colorado Open Meetings Law by way of two-person meetings to coordinate Wise's firing.
Why not? In a letter to boardmembers, Marshall notes that"a basis cited is that the complaint does not allege negligent violations of the law, but intentional ones by the four new boardmembers [Peterson, Winegar, Myers and Williams]. And the carrier's insurance policy only covers negligent, not intentional, misconduct."underscores this assertion:"The Claims Are Not for 'Negligent' Conduct as Required Under Coverage B — School Leaders Wrongful Act.
Since the letter, written by litigation claims specialist Nancy Kanon, is dated February 18, its contents were available to the board well before the March 11 special meeting.
Granted, the insurance denial may not be the final word on the subject. In the letter, Kanon points out that"the decision of CSDSIP to disclaim coverage to the District is based on the information we have at present. We reserve the right to reevaluate our coverage decision if new facts or pleadings are received." But as reported in the February 24 post"," the expenses are piling up.
The Dougco school board meeting gets underway at 5 p.m. at the DCSD Administration Building, 620 Wilcox Street in Castle Rock. In the meantime,has reached out to the Douglas County School District for comment about the insurance company denial letter.