MV school board candidates answer questions

During a debate Thursday evening, candidates for the Mount Vernon Board of Education addressed topics ranging from church and state issues to problems with school funding.

The debate began with a questioned posed to Jeff Cline about expressing Christian values in the classroom. Cline responded that although he does not advocate preaching in the classroom he does believe that there are times when a Christian should choose to honor God’s law over man’s law.

Cline gave the example of a time, as a high school baseball coach, that he prayed and discussed his Christian beliefs with a student who had approached him asking for help with some problems. “As a Christian,” Cline told the audience, “if you have certain moral values and certain convictions, stand for them.”

Later in the evening when the matter of the school’s handling of the firing of teacher John Freshwater was brought up, Cline said that issue is one of the reasons he is running for the school board. He explained that his position on that issue is that “Freshwater was wronged.” He went on to say, “If we have another situation like that, we will make sure that it is not [handled] wrong.”

The debate was sponsored by the Knox County 912 Project and held at the Knox County Career Center, Adult Education Building.

Candidates present were Dr. Margie Bennett (Incumbent), Jeff Cline, Marie Curry and Stephen Kelly. Not present were Cheryl Feasel and Jody Goetzman (Incumbent).

Comments from Richard McLarnan were not included in video coverage of the debate due to him being a candidate for the governing board of the Knox County Educational Service Center instead of a candidate for the Mount Vernon Board of Education.

For information regarding “church and state” issues, see the article by David Barton “The Separation of Church and State.”

(“School board candidate takes on notion of 'separation of church and state'”)

(“MVBOE candidates answer questions”)

UPDATE 11-2-2011 (FACT CHECK):

School district’s expenses for recent legal matters

During the debate, Bennett responded to the issue of the expenses for recent legal matters, saying (32:33 in video):

“I would just remind everyone that the Mount Vernon City School Board was sued, we didn’t seek the lawsuit, we simply defended the school district, and it’s been upheld in each court in which it has been presented. It amounts to $300,000 per year for three years, which was one percent of our budget, for legal expenses, which is probably not exorbitant if you think of a business; we are the fifth largest employer in Mount Vernon. Am I happy that we had to spend money that way? Absolutely not. But the school board had no choice; it was obligated to defend itself. And we have attempted to put additional personnel policies in place so that more evaluation and accountability will take place at a sooner level so that hopefully teachers will know the boundaries and respect them.”

The following is a list of the recent legal matters and the cost incurred by the district (expenses covered by the district’s insurance are not included):

• The federal case Doe v. Mount Vernon Board of Education et al. (in which the Dennis family sued the school board and others): $0.00.

• The federal case Freshwater v. Mount Vernon Board of Education et al. (in which Freshwater sued the school board and others): $0.00.

• The state administrative hearing pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 3319.16 (in which evidence for and against firing Freshwater was presented to a referee): $922,425.91.

• The Knox County Court of Common Pleas case John Freshwater v. Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education (in which Freshwater appealed his firing): $0.00.

The district was not directly responsible for the legal costs in the cases in which it was sued. Although it is true that once the board decided to start the process of firing Freshwater it was obligated to have a hearing if Freshwater requested one, the board did make choices that affected the cost incurred by the district for the hearing.

When Freshwater requested the hearing he also requested that the hearing be held before members of the board. Instead, the board decided to have the hearing before a referee. (Both options are allowed under Ohio law.) That decision cost $35,749.50.

When the board faced the decision of legal representation for the hearing it had two options under Ohio law: Use the services of the law director for the city of Mount Vernon or hire an attorney. The board chose to hire an attorney and ended up paying the attorney’s law firm $833,288.16.

Related documents:

The schools’ expenses for legal matters. 75KB PDF.

Ohio law regarding the hearing and legal representation for the school board. 142KB PDF.


UPDATE (2011 SCHOOL BOARD RESULTS):

The following are the official results for the Mount Vernon Board of Education race (three positions were up for election):

Jolene Goetzman 4,375 (20.36%)

Margie Bennett 4,049 (18.84%)

Cheryl A. Feasel 3,757 (17.48%)

Marie K. Curry 3,733 (17.37%)

Jeffrey S. Cline 3,004 (13.98%)

Stephen Kelly 2,572 (11.97%)

Meet the candidates October 27

There will be an opportunity to meet the candidates for the Mount Vernon Board of Education on October 27 at the Knox County Career Center, Adult Education Building:

Mount Vernon School District and Knox County Education Services Meet the Candidates Night

Knox County Career Center, Adult Education Building

308 Martinsburg Rd, Mount Vernon

October 27 at 7 P.M. (doors open at 6:30)

This event is free to the public.

Source: WNZR Community Calendar

Press release: Rutherford Institute Will Appeal Ruling Against Teacher Fired for Urging Public School Students to Think Critically About Evolution

The following press release was provided today by The Rutherford Institute:

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio— The Rutherford Institute has announced its intention to appeal to the 5th District Court of Appeals in Ohio on behalf of John Freshwater, a Christian teacher who was allegedly fired for keeping religious articles in his classroom and for using teaching methods that encourage public school students to think critically about the school's science curriculum, particularly as it relates to evolution theories. Freshwater, a 24-year veteran in the classroom, was suspended by the Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education in 2008 and officially terminated in January 2011. The School Board justified its actions by accusing Freshwater of improperly injecting religion into the classroom by giving students "reason to doubt the accuracy and/or veracity of scientists, science textbooks and/or science in general." The Board also claimed that Freshwater failed to remove "all religious articles" from his classroom, including a Bible.

"The judge's ruling is unfortunate because academic freedom is the bedrock of American education," stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "What we need today are more teachers and school administrators who understand that young people don't need to be indoctrinated. Rather, they need to be taught how to think for themselves."

In June 2008, the Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education voted to suspend John Freshwater, a Christian with a 21-year teaching career at Mount Vernon Middle School, citing concerns about his conduct and teaching materials, particularly as they related to the teaching of evolution. Earlier that year, school officials reportedly ordered Freshwater, who had served as the faculty appointed facilitator, monitor, and supervisor of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes student group for 16 of the 20 years that he taught at Mount Vernon, to remove "all religious items" from his classroom, including a Ten Commandments poster displayed on the door of his classroom, posters with Bible verses, and his personal Bible which he kept on his desk. Freshwater agreed to remove all items except for his Bible.

Showing their support for Freshwater, students even organized a rally in his honor. They also wore t-shirts with crosses painted on them to school and carried Bibles to class. School officials were seemingly unswayed by the outpouring of support for Freshwater. In fact, despite the fact that the Board's own policy states that because religious traditions vary in their treatment of science, teachers should give unbiased instruction so that students may evaluate it "in accordance with their own religious tenets," school officials suspended and eventually fired Freshwater, allegedly for criticizing evolution and failing to teach the required science curriculum.

Freshwater appealed the termination in state court, asserting that the school's actions violated his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and constituted religious discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Knox County Common Pleas Judge Otho Eyster upheld the School Board's decision in a ruling issued on Oct. 5, 2011. Rutherford Institute attorneys have announced their intention to appeal the county court's ruling.

For more information on this story, see the Oct. 5, 2011 article "County judge rules against Freshwater’s appeal."

County judge rules against Freshwater’s appeal

Knox County Court of Common Pleas Judge Otho Eyster ruled today against John Freshwater’s appeal of his firing by the Mount Vernon Board of Education.

Eyster did not cite any evidence or applicable law in support of his decision. Instead, Eyster simply wrote in his decision that he “considered the applicable law” and that he found “clear and convincing evidence to support” the teacher’s firing for “good and just cause.”

(See here for a copy of the decision. 320KB PDF)

Due to Eyster’s failure to provide specifics in his decision, the judge has left unchallenged the school’s action of ordering Freshwater to remove his personal Bible from off his classroom desk.

In the school board’s resolution firing Freshwater, the board had stated that the teacher’s refusal to remove the Bible* and, additionally, bringing into the classroom two religious books from the school’s library constituted “good and just cause” for firing him.

The board, based on the report by hearing referee R. Lee Shepherd, had provided a total of ten reasons for the firing.

Freshwater challenged those reasons in his appeal and requested that he be able to present additional information to the court, saying, “additional information has become available since the close of the hearing conducted by the referee, the information of which was not previously made available despite efforts to obtain.”

Eyster’s ruling came without the admission of additional evidence from Freshwater. Eyster explained that he was not allowing additional days of hearings because of the “number of witnesses and exhibits presented” already during the state administrative hearing.

As reported by AccountabilityInTheMedia.com in June, at least one of the ten reasons the board gave for firing Freshwater was based solely on the testimony of a witness who, according to school records obtained through a public records request, was not present in the classroom during the time period he claimed to be.

According to The Columbus Dispatch, Freshwater has 30 days to appeal Eyster’s decision.

*Note: The board’s resolution on this point is vaguely worded and is open to interpretation. Freshwater’s appeal to 5th District Court of Appeals in Ohio interprets it as being a reference to the Colin Powell/George W. Bush poster. See the article “Freshwater appeals to 5th District Court.”

Related documents:

Closing arguments from the state administrative hearing

Freshwater’s appeal (3.25 MB PDF)

Previous articles mentioning Eyster:

“Case ‘closed’ without trial, without verdict”

“John Freshwater Files Writ of Mandamus with Supreme Court of Ohio”


See the articles in the archive for additional coverage of the Freshwater controversy.

UPDATE 10/6/2011:

The Rutherford Institute has announced that it plans to appeal to the 5th District Court of Appeals in Ohio on behalf of Freshwater.

UPDATE 10/7/2011:

Christian Post reporter Alex Murashko has written an article about Eyster’s decision and Freshwater’s plans to appeal: “Fired Christian Teacher: ‘I Teach All Aspects of Evolution.’”

Press release: Acceding to Rutherford Institute’s Demands, Ohio Department of Education Removes Letter of Admonishment from Freshwater's Record

The following press release was provided Monday by The Rutherford Institute:

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) has agreed to remove a "letter of admonishment" from the professional record of Christian teacher John Freshwater. In its letter, the ODE stated that it is investigating The Rutherford Institute's charges that the admonishment against Freshwater was issued in defiance of Freshwater's due process rights and in violation of the Department's own rules. Institute attorneys insist that the ODE's issuance of the admonishment violated Freshwater's due process rights because the teacher was not given proper notice or an opportunity to defend himself against the charges. The Institute also argues that the ODE exceeded the scope of its authority by issuing the letter in violation of the prescribed statutory procedures. The Rutherford Institute came to Freshwater's aid in the wake of a bitter and protracted legal dispute regarding Freshwater's display of allegedly Christian posters in the classroom and his encouraging students to think critically about scientific "theories" such as evolution.

"I'm pleased that the Ohio Department of Education has decided to step back and review this situation," stated John Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "The right to basic due process—especially the right to defend oneself against charges—is too important to be short-circuited by any government agency."

John Freshwater was suspended by the Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education in 2008 and officially terminated in January 2011. The School Board's resolution claims that Freshwater improperly injected religion into the classroom by giving students "reason to doubt the accuracy and or veracity of scientists, science textbooks and/or science in general." The Board also claims that he failed to remove "all religious articles" from his classroom, including a Bible. Throughout his 21-year teaching career at Mount Vernon Middle School, John Freshwater never received a negative performance evaluation. In fact, showing their support for Freshwater, students even organized a rally in his honor. They also wore t-shirts with crosses painted on them to school and carried Bibles to class.

However, school officials were seemingly unswayed by the outpouring of support for Freshwater. The Ohio Department of Education issued its admonishment against Freshwater on March 22, 2011, based on charges that a student was injured after Freshwater, a 24-year veteran in the classroom, permitted students to touch a live Tesla coil. However, as Institute attorneys pointed out, the administrator who investigated the initial incident ultimately concluded that the allegations had been overblown and that there was "a plausible explanation for how and why the Tesla Coil had been used by John Freshwater."

With the help of The Rutherford Institute, Freshwater is appealing his termination in state court, asserting that the school's actions violated his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and constituted religious discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

For more information on this story, see the April 26, 2011 article “Ohio Department of Education tries to revive Tesla coil issue.”

MV schools provides second presentation of ‘Religion in the Public Schools’

Late last month teachers at Mount Vernon City Schools were given the second installment in a set of presentations on church and state issues which were required under the 2009 settlement with the Dennis family.

The first presentation was given in August of 2009 by two attorneys. The second presentation was to take place by September 2010. Following inquires and a public records request from AccountabilityInTheMedia.com earlier this year, superintendent Steve Short said in March that the school was “in the planning stages for the second speaker.”

The presentation

The presentation May 25 was given by two law professors from West Virginia University College of Law: John Taylor and Anne Marie Lofaso.


(“‘Religion in the Public Schools’ - law professors speak to public school teachers”)

The topics covered were much the same as the first presentation: “Religious Liberty in America,” “Prayer in School,” “Religion in the Curriculum,” “Evolution vs. Creationism,” “Teaching About Religious Holidays,” “Religious Displays,” “Student Religious Clubs,” “Distribution of Religious Materials” and “Teacher Religious Expression.”

The only topic not covered this time that was covered during the previous presentation was school board polices concerning religion.

See here for a copy of the computer slides that were used during the presentation. 1.5 MB PDF

See here for a copy of the school board’s polices. 8 MB PDF

Additional information and alternative viewpoints

The Rutherford Institute

The Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties organization which is representing John Freshwater, provides resources for teachers and students about their rights and freedoms:

Pamphlet: Teachers Rights in Public Education (121 KB PDF)

Pamphlet: Students Rights in Public Education (59 KB PDF)

See here for a list of additional free resources from TRI.

David Barton, American historian

David Barton is the Founder and President of WallBuilders, an organization that describes itself as “a national pro-family organization that presents America's forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on our moral, religious and constitutional heritage.”


(“David Barton on America’s Christian heritage, constitutional issues”)

Barton was the keynote speaker at Citizens for Community Values’ spring partnership banquet in Cincinnati on April 25. Although his presentation was not focused on public school issues, he did speak about church and state issues including the concept of “separation of church and state.”

See WallBuilders’ YouTube channel for additional videos about America’s spiritual heritage and the current battle over public acknowledgment of God.

Thomas Paine on “The Study of God”

The following presentation by Thomas Paine is from the WallBuilders.com article “Thomas Paine Criticizes the Current Public School Science Curriculum”:

Delivered in Paris on January 16, 1797, in a Discourse to the Society of Theophilanthropists:

“It has been the error of the schools to teach astronomy, and all the other sciences and subjects of natural philosophy, as accomplishments only; whereas they should be taught theologically, or with reference to the Being who is the author of them: for all the principles of science are of Divine origin. Man cannot make, or invent, or contrive principles. He can only discover them; and he ought to look through the discovery to the Author.

“When we examine an extraordinary piece of machinery, an astonishing pile of architecture, a well executed statue or a highly finished painting where life and action are imitated, and habit only prevents our mistaking a surface of light and shade for cubical solidity, our ideas are naturally led to think of the extensive genius and talents of the artist. When we study the elements of geometry, we think of Euclid. When we speak of gravitation, we think of Newton. How then is it, that when we study the works of God in the creation, we stop short, and do not think of God? It is from the error of the schools in having taught those subjects as accomplishments only, and thereby separated the study of them form the Being who is the author of them. . . .

“The evil that has resulted from the error of the schools in teaching natural philosophy as an accomplishment only has been that of generating in the pupils a species of atheism. Instead of looking through the works of the creation to the Creator himself, they stop short, and employ the knowledge they acquire to create doubts of His existence. They labor with studied ingenuity to ascribe everything they behold to innate properties of matter; and jump over all the rest, by saying that matter is eternal.”

EXCLUSIVE: Witness impeached by school records

James Stockdale was the lone witness for at least one of the ten reasons the Mount Vernon Board of Education gave for firing John Freshwater. According to school records, Stockdale’s substitute teaching duties never took him into Freshwater’s classroom during the time period Stockdale claimed to have heard Freshwater make remarks about homosexuality.

Stockdale testified in 2009, during the state administrative hearing, that he substitute taught for intervention specialist Kerri Mahan in the fall of 2006. This assignment, Stockdale said, led him to spend one period in Freshwater’s classroom accompanying special education students.

Stockdale said that during that period Freshwater taught his eighth-grade science class both that homosexuality is a sin and that scientists are wrong for saying homosexuality is partially genetic:

“[Freshwater said] that oftentimes scientists and information in textbooks are incorrect and he wanted to give an example of that. And the example he gave was that several years ago an article in Time magazine stated that scientists had found a genetic link to homosexuality and that scientists in the article were wrong because the Bible states that homosexuality is a sin, so anyone who chooses to be a homosexual is a sinner; and that, therefore, science can be wrong, scientists can be wrong. And then he applied that to thinking that the material in the textbook in that particular unit could be incorrect.”

Stockdale, however, did not report the alleged incident until after Freshwater was told to remove the Bible from off his desk in the spring of 2008.

Hearing referee R. Lee Shepherd, in his report, characterized the incident Stockdale described as being “Perhaps the most egregious example of John Freshwater’s ‘failure to adhere to established curriculum.’”

During the hearing, Freshwater testified that he never made the statement that Stockdale credited to him. Freshwater said that Stockdale may have overheard a conversation he had with other teachers regarding the Time magazine article about the gay gene.

Neither Shepherd in his report nor the school board in its resolution provided an explanation for why they chose to believe the testimony of Stockdale over that of Freshwater.

The records obtained by AccountabilityInTheMedia.com show that Stockdale never substitute taught for Mahan Sept. 1, 2005 through June 30, 2008.

In the written statement that Stockdale provided to the school during the H.R. On Call Investigation, Stockdale said:

“When this matter became public and removing the Bible from Mr. Freshwater’s classroom appeared to be the sole issue, I knew differently. Over the next few days, the question of whether or not John was proselytizing in his classroom was raised. I know for a fact that he was preaching.”

Freshwater has appealed the decision of the school board. In the appeal filed in February with the Knox County Court of Common Pleas, Freshwater addressed Stockdale’s allegation:

“Freshwater does not argue for his right to have said this; Freshwater denies saying this. Stockdale has no corroboration from students, or from parents, or from administration, no contemporary documentation, did not speak to anyone at the time, admits he does not have exact recollection of the things that happened that particular day, and at the time of the investigation he could not even remember what year this supposedly occurred. Yet, Stockdale is very specific in ‘recalling’ exactly what Freshwater said to his students. Without corroboration, it is IRRATIONAL to conclude that his testimony is true.”

RELATED DOCUMENTS:

Stockdale’s MVCS attendance report. 186 KB. PDF.

Stockdale’s letter. 126 KB. PDF.

Closing arguments.

Shepherd’s report and recommendation. 41 KB. PDF.

MVBOE termination resolution. 633 KB. PDF

Freshwater’s appeal. 3.25 MB. PDF

See the articles in the archive for additional coverage of the Freshwater controversy.

Ohio Department of Education tries to revive Tesla coil issue

The Ohio Department of Education sent a “Letter of Admonishment” to John Freshwater that claims Freshwater “engaged in conduct unbecoming to the teaching profession.” The only issue raised in the letter is the previously adjudicated issue involving the Tesla coil.

Without citing any evidence or sources, the ODE asserted that Freshwater’s use of the Tesla coil “resulted in an injury to a student.”

The referee who oversaw Freshwater’s state administrative hearing, R. Lee Shepherd, stated about the allegation of a student being injured:

“Due to the sensational and provocative nature of this specified ground, it and the facts and circumstances surrounding it became the focus of the curious, including those in the video, audio, and print media. Once sworn testimony was presented, it [became] obvious that speculation and imagination had pushed reality aside.”

As previously reported by KnoxPages editor Adam Taylor, Freshwater’s attorney R. Kelly Hamilton has sent a response to the ODE demanding that the letter be rescinded.

“Freshwater herein demands,” the response states, “the Ohio Department of Education’s letter of Admonishment be immediately rescinded as the allegations relied upon in the letter are false, erroneous, defamatory and unwarranted and subject to legal action.”

Hamilton cited ODE own rules which bar the department from issuing the admonishment due to the matter having been already resolved.

Hamilton further requested, if the letter is not rescinded, that an investigation be opened immediately into the conduct of Mount Vernon City Schools superintendent Steve Short and middle school principal Bill White.

Short and White did not report the alleged injury to Children Services. Hamilton said Short and White failed to comply with Ohio’s mandatory reporting requirement.

Hamilton also requested that the ODE investigate the other teachers who also allowed students to touch the spark from the Tesla coil:

“The essence of the Ohio Department of Education’s Letter of Admonishment is that educators should be disciplined for an alleged, now known to be false accusation of harm, despite having followed on-the-job-training procedures and making use of a Tesla coil in the exact same manner as colleagues with a pattern of conduct that had proven reliable and safe for over 20 years.”

Related documents:

Letter of Admonishment, dated March 22, 2011. 1 MB PDF.

Response to Letter of Admonishment, dated April 20, 2011. 766 KB PDF.

UPDATE: 5-23-2011:

The Mount Vernon News reported Friday that Stephen and Jenifer Dennis, through their attorney, submitted a request to the ODE asking that the letter of reprimand remain in Freshwater’s file and that Freshwater's teaching license be revoked.

Press release: Rutherford Institute defends Christian teacher fired for urging public school students to think critically about evolution

The following press release was provided today by The Rutherford Institute:

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio— The Rutherford Institute is defending a Christian teacher who was allegedly fired for keeping religious articles in his classroom and for using teaching methods that encourage public school students to think critically about the school's science curriculum, particularly as it relates to evolution theories. John Freshwater, a 24-year veteran in the classroom, was suspended by the Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education in 2008 and officially terminated in January 2011. The School Board's resolution claims that Freshwater improperly injected religion into the classroom by giving students "reason to doubt the accuracy and or veracity of scientists, science textbooks and/or science in general." The Board also claims that he failed to remove "all religious articles" from his classroom, including a Bible.

"The right of public school teachers to academic freedom is the bedrock of American education," stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "What we need today are more teachers and school administrators who understand that young people don't need to be indoctrinated. Rather, they need to be taught how to think for themselves."

Throughout his 21-year teaching career at Mount Vernon Middle School, John Freshwater never received a negative performance evaluation. As one reporter noted, "In his evaluations through the 21 years he's worked for the district, Freshwater has drawn consistent praise for his strong rapport with students, broad knowledge of his subject matter and engaging teaching style." In fact, during the 2007-2008 school year, Freshwater's students earned the highest state standardized test scores in science of any eighth grade class in the district. Moreover, according to a federal judge's findings, Freshwater was the only science teacher at Mount Vernon Middle School who achieved a "passing" score on the Ohio Achievement Test.

However, in June 2008, the Board of Education voted to fire Freshwater, a Christian, citing concerns about his conduct and teaching materials, particularly as they related to the teaching of evolution. Earlier that year, school officials reportedly ordered Freshwater, who had served as the faculty appointed facilitator, monitor, and supervisor of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes student group for 16 of the 20 years that he taught at Mount Vernon, to remove "all religious items" from his classroom, including a Ten Commandments poster displayed on the door of his classroom, posters with Bible verses, and his personal Bible which he kept on his desk. Freshwater agreed to remove all items except for his Bible. Showing their support for Freshwater, students even organized a rally in his honor. They also wore t-shirts with crosses painted on them to school and carried Bibles to class.

School officials were seemingly unswayed by the outpouring of support for Freshwater. In fact, despite the fact that the Board's own policy states that because religious traditions vary in their treatment of science, teachers should give unbiased instruction so that students may evaluate it "in accordance with their own religious tenets," school officials suspended and eventually fired Freshwater, allegedly for criticizing evolution and failing to teach the required science curriculum.

With the help of The Rutherford Institute, Freshwater is appealing his termination in state court, asserting that the school's actions violated his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and constituted religious discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

What does MV school board’s statement mean?

Editorial

The Mount Vernon Board of Education issued a press release criticizing what it referred to as “elements” within the community. The statement then goes on to praise student Zachary Dennis for “coming forward.”

The “elements” are described in the statement as people “who decided to attack the student and family who reported concerns about John Freshwater.”

The statement does not make clear what is meant by “attack.” Barring this as an allegation of assault, “attack” presumably refers to some form of verbal disagreement.

Even then, the lack of clarifying language leaves open the interpretation of what is meant by “attack” and, by extension, who belongs to the group the school board calls the “elements.”

Considering that the statement presents just two sides, the “elements” and the Dennises, readers of the statement could come away thinking that the criticism of the “elements” is a reference to all of the people who have disagreed with the Dennises.

Many of Zachary Dennis’s fellow classmates disagreed with Dennis’s testimony. Are those students to be considered part of the “elements” or are they to be praised for “coming forward”?

If the school board did not intend to offend the majority of the community then it should have included clarifying language.

An example of using clarifying language would be the statement that is at the top of the comments portion of every page on AccountabilityInTheMedia.com: “Comments from all ideological viewpoints are welcome. However, please avoid abusive language and ad hominem attacks.”

(See here for a copy of the press release. PDF 48 KB)



(The community used signs in 2008 to express opinions about the school controversy.)

Use the play button at very bottom of picture to view slideshow.

Case ‘closed’ without trial, without verdict

The Knox County Court of Common Pleas lists John Freshwater’s case—in which he was appealing his firing from Mount Vernon City Schools—as being “closed.”

Freshwater’s appeal never went to trial.

The case disposition is described on the court's website as being that of “Transfer to another judge or court.”

AccountabilityInTheMedia.com asked Freshwater whether he was given an opportunity to challenge the attempt to close his case at the county level. His wife, Nancy, wrote back, “We knew nothing about it; we didn't even know the request was made.”

Attorneys for the Mount Vernon Board of Education had filed a “Notice of Removal” with the county court Wednesday morning. In the filing, the attorneys told the court the “case has been removed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.”

(See here for a copy of the documents. TIFF 339 KB )

The attorneys did not include in their filing a copy of any decision made by a federal judge that shows the transfer of the case was approved.

Although the county court website has an entry that says the case is “finished” and “filed away,” there is no document—such as a decision by county judge Otho Eyster—which corresponds to that entry.

Knox County Clerk of Courts, Mary Jo Hawkins, told AccountabilityInTheMedia.com that “there is no document for the entry” which says the case is finished. She explained that the entry “is just our notation.”

Included in the documents the school board’s attorneys filed is a copy of the request, apparently filed in federal court, for transfer of the case.

In the request, the school board's attorneys argue: “This case is subject to removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a) and (b), because the district court has original jurisdiction over this action based on federal question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §1331.”

Freshwater had submitted his appeal to the county court pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 3319.16.: “Any teacher affected by an order of termination of contract may appeal to the court of common pleas of the county in which the school is located.”

The request for removal of the case was reported on by the Mount Vernon News on Wednesday in the article “Board asks to move case to federal court.” Reporter Pamela Schehl wrote, “Attorney Sarah Moore, of the law firm Britton, Smith, Peters & Kalail, said the board filed papers asking to move the Freshwater case to federal court.”

AccountabilityInTheMedia.com asked board members whether the request to move the case to federal court was made directly by the school board or with the prior knowledge and consent of the board. Board president, Dr. Margie Bennett, replied via e-mail: “Prior to the removal of the case to federal court, the Board met in executive session with legal counsel to discuss the case. The details of those discussions are a matter of attorney-client privilege, which no individual board member can waive or disclose.”

UPDATE 3-8-2011:

Federal judge Gregory Frost on Monday signed a memorandum saying that the case should be transferred to his docket.

(See here for a copy of the memorandum. 137 KB PDF)

Previous coverage related to Frost:

April 18, 2010 — “Christian Family Objects to Bible in Classroom”

July 31, 2010 — “Judge to Reconsider Previously Issued Sanctions”

Aug. 4, 2010 — “What’s in the Trash, Stays in the Trash, According to Judge”

Oct. 21, 2010 — “Freshwater Lawsuit Dismissed”

UPDATE 3-13-2011:

Judge Frost on Thursday issued an order questioning whether the federal court has jurisdiction over Freshwater’s case:

“This Court, however, questions whether it has subject matter jurisdiction over this action based upon § 3319.16 of the Ohio Revised Code and, if it does possess jurisdiction, whether it is proper to exercise it in view of the abstention doctrine. Thus, the Court is inclined to sua sponte remand this action. Defendants may have until March 28, 2011, to provide a brief explaining why this action should not be remanded.”

(See here for a copy of the order. 22 KB PDF.)

For additional documents related to this matter, see the website of the National Center for Science Education.

UPDATE 4-5-2011:

Judge Frost on Tuesday issued an order remanding the case back to the county court:

“First, this action was an on-going state judicial proceeding prior to removal to this Court. Plaintiff filed this action in the proper state court as required by § 3319.16 of the Ohio Revised Code. Next, those proceedings certainly implicate important state interests […].Finally, the state court is quite competent to hear Freshwater’s complaints of constitutional violations.”

(See here for a copy of the order. 29 KB PDF.)

Did MV schools fulfill 2009 settlement terms?

In August 2009 the Mount Vernon Board of Education agreed to a partial settlement with the Dennis family. Eighteen months later, portions of the settlement may have been left unfulfilled.

As part of the agreement the school board promised that there would be two presentations given to employees of the Mount Vernon City Schools on the subject of religion in the public schools. The board also said that after they made their decision regarding John Freshwater’s employment they would issue a statement included in the settlement.

The presentations
The first presentation was given in August of 2009 by two attorneys. The second presentation, according to the settlement, was to be given by Melissa Rogers or a speaker “with similar credentials.”
 

The 2009 settlement stipulated that there were to be two presentations.

AccountabilityInTheMedia.com asked the schools’ superintendent, Steve Short, whether the second presentation had been given. Short wrote back, “I have forwarded your request to our attorney for a response.”

If and when the attorney, Sarah Moore, responds this article will be updated with her response.

The settlement gave a deadline for the second presentation: September 2010.

(See here for a copy of e-mails to and from AccountabilityInTheMedia.com regarding the second presentation. PDF 65KB )

The statement

The school board promised to “make a public statement” using wording included in the settlement. The statement was to be issued after the board made its decision regarding Freshwater’s employment.

The school board in 2009 agreed to make a public statement after the hearing concluded.

AccountabilityInTheMedia.com asked the school board’s president, Dr. Margie Bennett, about the statement. Bennett wrote back, “I understand Mr. Short sent the Press Release to the local media and the Columbus Dispatch.”

Following Bennett’s response, a copy of the press release was requested from the school via a public records request. When the response is received this article will be updated with the response.

(See here for a copy of e-mails to and from AccountabilityInTheMedia.com regarding the statement. PDF 69KB )

UPDATE 3-1-2011:

Moore has not responded to the request for comment.

The school has not replied to the public records request.

UPDATE 3-3-2011:

Rogers replied to a request for comment from AccountabilityInTheMedia.com, saying: “I suggest you contact David Millstone. I'd be happy to talk to you, but Mr. Millstone knows much more about this matter.”

(Millstone is one of the two attorneys that gave the first presentation to school employees on the subject of religion in the public schools. Millstone, however, did not handle the settlement with the Dennis family.)

AccountabilityInTheMedia.com had sent the following questions to Rogers: “Were you contacted by anyone to speak at the school? Did you give a presentation at the school on the subject of religion in the public schools?”

(See here for a copy of e-mails to and from Rogers. PDF 69KB )

UPDATE 3-4-2011:

The second presentation

Short told AccountabilityInTheMedia.com that the second presentation has not yet been given.

“We are in the planning stages for the second speaker,” Short said. “We anticipate that we will have the second speaker in May.”

The speaker will be someone other than Rogers. “Unfortunately,” Rogers explained, “we could not work out the scheduling.”

(See here for a copy of e-mails to and from AccountabilityInTheMedia.com regarding the second presentation—updated on 3-4-2011. PDF 12 KB )

The statement

Short supplied a copy of a press release that contains the statement that was required pursuant to the August 2009 settlement. The press release is undated but would have been issued sometime after the school board made the decision in January 2011 to fire Freshwater.

(See here for a copy of the press release. PDF 48 KB)

(See here for a copy of e-mails to and from AccountabilityInTheMedia.com regarding the statement—updated on 3-4-2011. PDF 10 KB )

School board votes 4-1 to fire Freshwater

The president of the Mount Vernon Board of Education had to prompt board members several times before one of the members offered to move to adopt the resolution to terminate John Freshwater’s teaching contract.

Paula Barone moved, seconded by Jody Goetzman, to fire Freshwater.

Steve Thompson was the only board member to vote against the resolution.

(Click here to view a copy of the resolution adopted by the school board during Monday’s meeting. 632.765 KB PDF.)

The referee overseeing Freshwater’s state administrative hearing, R. Lee Shepherd, issued a report on Friday recommending the termination of the teacher’s contract.

In the beginning of the report, however, Shepherd dismisses the allegation that Freshwater burned a cross onto the arm of one of his students:

“Due to the sensational and provocative nature of this specified ground, it and the facts and circumstances surrounding it became the focus of the curious, including those in the video, audio, and print media. Once sworn testimony was presented, it [became] obvious that speculation and imagination had pushed reality aside.”

Shepherd also noted that the matter involving the Tesla coil had already been dealt with by school administration. (See the article, “Tesla Coil Matter Was Officially Resolved January 2008.” )

Although Shepherd said that Freshwater violated the Establishment Clause and that he recommended firing Freshwater, he noted that Freshwater excelled as a teacher:

“Initially, it must be noted that a wealth of evidence was presented to substantiate that John Freshwater was a successful eighth grade science teacher. Many, possibly most of his students seemed to enjoy his class and remember it fondly. On the average, Freshwater students performed at or above the state requirements and expectations for eighth grade science students. The state test score results for his students often exceeded the state test score results of other eighth grade science teachers. On more than one occasion, John Freshwater was recognized by his peers for his outstanding teaching skills.”

(Click here to view a copy of Shepherd’s report and recommendation. 41.084 KB PDF.)

The school board did not permit public participation during the meeting. Board president, Dr. Margie Bennett, said this was “because we have a lot of business to cover.” See correction at end of article.



Video: "Paula Barone withdraws recusal regarding John Freshwater hearing."

(Click here to view a copy of the Paula Barone and Steve Thompson recusal letters. 1.19 MB PDF)


Video: "School board votes 4-1 to fire John Freshwater."



Video: "School board members talk about the firing of John Freshwater."


For Freshwater’s side of the story, see the article, “Freshwater’s Closing Arguments: Allegations Unsubstantiated.” Also see the articles in the archive for additional coverage of the Freshwater controversy.

UPDATE 2-15-2011:

Related Document

As already reported by the media, Freshwater filed an appeal February 8 with the Knox County Common Pleas Court. (Click here to view a copy of the 33 page document. 3MB PDF. )

Correction

During the February 14 school board meeting, Bennett said she wanted to clear up a misunderstanding over why there was no public participation at the last meeting.

“Public participation,” Bennett said, “is always a part of our meetings and we would never do away with it because we are too busy. The reason we didn’t have any was because no one had signed up.”

(Editor’s note: Based on having gone back and looked at the video, it appears that Bennett’s statement at the opening of the prior meeting —“We won’t spend a lot of time on comments this evening because we want to go right into…we have a lot of business to cover”—was intended by her to keep the board members’ comments brief.)

Freshwater Lawsuit Dismissed

The federal case John Freshwater, et al., v. Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education, et al. was dismissed Thursday:

“Now come all parties, by and through counsel, to stipulate Plaintiffs John and Nancy Freshwater dismiss all claims contained in the First Amended Complaint with prejudice pursuant to Civ.R. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii).”

A copy of the stipulated dismissal is posted on the website of the National Center for Science Education.

UPDATE 10-22-10:

Don Matolyak, Freshwater’s pastor, provided AccountabilityInTheMedia.com with a copy of Freshwater’s statement regarding the dismissal of the lawsuit against the school board:

“I want to pass along this statement. My wife and I directly sent to the opposing attorneys the following statement by email on Wednesday, October 20, 2010. The truth is there was money offered to me several times to leave the district and stop the state hearing before Referee Shepherd could make his finding. If I took the money and left the district the opportunity for truth would never have come out and the eleven students from my 2007-2008 class would not have been able to testify about the truth. Most importantly if I took the money and left the district the Referee would have been prevented from making a decision. The Referee has heard 38 days of testimony and is the best opportunity for revealing the truth. I will await Referee R. Lee Shepherd’s decision.

“(this is the statement I made to the school board’s attorneys)

“Nancy and I prayerfully considered the settlement terms and have decided to REJECT the terms presented.

“From the beginning, my wife and I have only sought the truth. Revelations in the last few days exposed to us the strategy of those who have harmed me, a strategy designed to obscure the truth rather than seek justice and reconciliation. It has become obvious this federal platform and process will never result in the truth coming forward. Truth is not to be compromised or negotiated or hidden behind money.

“We feel confident that the hearing completed in August 2010, after 38 days of testimony before Referee R. Lee Shepherd is the best opportunity for revealing the truth we sought from the beginning. Therefore, we have decided to withdraw our federal lawsuit against all parties without any personal compensation or monetary gain as proposed, and we have instructed our attorney to file the proper paperwork. We seek no other option than to continue to patiently await the finding of Referee R. Lee Shepherd as he is the ONLY person to hear all of the testimony and most importantly see all of the students from my 2007-2008 class speak about the truth of what went on during my class.

“We have already spent our life savings and have pledged our farm to get to the truth. It is better to leave the money on the table than to take the Bible off of my desk.

“John and Nancy Freshwater”

According to Mount Vernon News reporter Pamela Schehl, school board attorney Sarah Moore said: “There was no settlement offer to accept or reject. There was no money on the table for [Freshwater] to leave there. We were baffled when we received the e-mail from him and we can't even begin to speculate why he is saying what he is saying.”

AccountibilityInTheMedia.com Reporter Responds to Subpoena

On Monday evening I submitted a written statement to the Mount Vernon Board of Education regarding the recent subpoena I received from the school board’s attorney Sarah Moore.

In the subpoena, Moore stated that it was for the federal case John Freshwater, et al., v. Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education, et al.

(Click here to view a copy my statement to the school board and a copy of the subpoena. 891 KB PDF.)

Below is a portion of my statement:

“I understand that attorney Moore has a job to do in defending the school district in the federal case. However, there is a difference between being thorough and casting such a wide net, while fishing for information, that one goes overboard. Attorney Moore’s actions appear to be the latter.

“What criteria did attorney Moore use in deciding to whom to send subpoenas? Has she also sent subpoenas to the Mount Vernon News, KnoxPages.com, 13WMVO or the countless television stations and other newspapers who have reported on the story involving Mr. Freshwater? Will she send subpoenas to every person who has ever blogged about the story, written a letter to the editor or spoken at a school board meeting?”

I wasn’t the only one that Moore sent a subpoena to recently. Among those that received a subpoena is Levi Stickle, who maintains the website cfacts.org.

Three people spoke to the school board during the public participation portion of Monday’s school board meeting. Two of the individuals spoke about the recent subpoenas.


(“Levi Stickle to school attorney: Why did you send me a subpoena?”)



(“Community member responds to proposed MVCS levy”)



(“William Pursel: Frivolous subpoenas”)


Moore has been sent a request for comment. If and when she replies this article will be updated with her response.

Also during Monday’s meeting, school board treasurer, Barbara J. Donohue, provided an update to the school board regarding the district’s five-year forecast. She provided information regarding the financial challenges facing the district due to budget cuts at the state level.

UPDATE 10-16-10:


Moore still has not responded to the request for comment.

Mount Vernon News reporter Pamela Schehl did not include any mention of the subpoenas in her coverage of the school board meeting. See her article “McKinley honored by MV school board.”

The managing editor for the News, Samantha Scoles, provided an explanation in an email to AccountabilityInTheMedia.com :

“The reason we have not reported on the public participation portion of the most recent school board meeting is because we were not in attendance. Our education reporter was attending a different school board meeting.

“When we do not attend meetings, we can call on board members, the treasurer or the superintendent for details of the meeting, which we did in this case. I believe we were provided with the statements made in regards to the Behind the Scenes Award.

“Therefore, without being present to hear the public comments, we cannot possibly report on those.”

In an email on Oct 12, Scoles had been provided with links to videos of the public comments and a copy of the written statement given to the school board.

UPDATE 10-20-10:

Dave Daubenmire, through his attorney, has submitted a motion to quash a subpoena sent to him by Moore. Below is a portion of the motion:

“After reviewing the subpoena, it is clear that the only purpose of the subpoena was to harass, embarrass, and incur expenses for a non-party witness, simply because he is a friend of one of the parties. The subpoena should be quashed in its entirety, and attorneys fees awarded to Mr. Daubenmire from the Defendant for the expense of obtaining counsel to respond to this harassing subpoena.”

A copy of the motion is posted on the website of the National Center for Science Education.

Richard Hoppe, who writes for pandasthumb.org, wrote about the recent subpoenas issued by Moore. Below is a portion of Hoppe’s post:

“Essentially the defense is asking for everything Sam [Stickle] has ever written on the web, whether public or in private, about Freshwater, Hamilton, and the Freshwater hearing. That’s a remarkable demand. It has the effect of bringing everything a private citizen has written about this affair into a federal court proceeding for no discernible reason beyond the defense’s hope that something, anything, will turn up. It is a chilling affront to the First Amendment rights of the Stickle brothers and to anyone else (what, who me?) who might have commented somewhere on the web about this specific affair or who might write a blog post or even comment on a discussion board about any legal proceeding.”

Freshwater’s Closing Arguments: Allegations Unsubstantiated

John Freshwater’s “closing statement brief” was released Thursday.

The 180 page document, including diagrams, provides extensive arguments for why the allegations made against Freshwater are unsubstantiated. The brief draws upon the many witnesses who testified during the hearing that began in October of 2008.

(“Freshwater's Closing Statement Brief.” 4MB PDF.)

(The “Middle School FCA Speakers Survey” diagram, like others used in the brief, emphasizes significant details of the testimony.)

The following is from the introduction of the brief:

“Everything in this case is about purpose, context and intent with an ultimate goal of answering the question set forth in the opening statement –

‘What makes sense?’ versus ‘What does not make sense?’

“Shamefully and sadly, had the administration of the employer invested any zeal in investigative fact gathering to determine the basic:

‘Who?, What?, Where?, When?, Why? and How?’

- legitimate answers could have been achieved both by the end of the last day of school in 2008, and before the employer’s resolutions of June 20, 2008, and July 7, 2008.”

AND

“The sum of the decision calculus in this matter will demonstrate John Freshwater prevails in this matter because:

“1. Any and all matters related to John Freshwater’s use of a Tesla Coil were adjudicated by Principal William White’s letter to John Freshwater dated January 22, 2008.

“2. The Academic Content Standards were not applicable in the Mount Vernon City School District until the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year.

“A. John Freshwater taught his 8th grade students exactly as he was required as evidenced by the only known assessment tool authorized in the State of Ohio; the Ohio Achievement Tests. John Freshwater’s students received proper instruction resulting in him being the only 8th grade teacher whose students achieved a proficient rating of seventy-seven (77%) percent on the Ohio Achievement Tests despite his classes containing the most special education students.

“B. Ten (10) eyewitness students, two (2) teachers and one (1) principal testified John Freshwater never instructed on the topics of creationism nor intelligent design.

“3. John Freshwater complied with all of the known parameters as he facilitated, monitored and supervised the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).

“A. Witness testimony from credible sources clearly demonstrates John Freshwater did not conduct nor lead any prayers during FCA meetings.

“B. Witness testimony from credible sources clearly demonstrates John Freshwater never asked non-familial students to lead prayer in FCA meetings.

“C. Witness testimony from credible sources clearly demonstrates John Freshwater did not exceed his role as facilitator, monitor and supervisor of the FCA.

“4. John Freshwater exercised a constitutional right to have a personal Bible in his classroom on his desk.

“A. John Freshwater removed all items he was lawfully asked to remove.

“B. John Freshwater did not receive any instruction from Principal William White or anybody else to remove the patriotic poster, which was distributed through the Mount Vernon Middle School office, depicting former President George Bush and Colin Powell.

“C. John Freshwater never intended or tried to ‘make a point’ by bringing additional religious articles into his classroom.

“At the conclusion of this brief, John Freshwater will respectfully request the Referee to evaluate and find each of the employer’s allegations against John Freshwater as detailed in the Amended Resolution of Intent to Consider the Termination of the Teaching Contract(s) of John Freshwater to be unsubstantiated.

“John Freshwater prays this Referee, after consideration of the evidence presented, and assessment of the testimony heard, will find the Board of Education (BOE) has failed to prove the charges set forth in the resolution to consider his termination originally dated June 20, 2008, but amended on July 7, 2008.”

For additional coverage of the Freshwater hearing, see the articles in the archive.

UPDATE 9/20/10—related documents:

August 13, 2010 David Millstone’s brief on behalf of the Mount Vernon Board of Education. 239 KB PDF.

August 20, 2010 R. Kelly Hamilton’s rebuttal on behalf of Freshwater. 5.64 MB PDF.

August 20, 2010 Millstone’s rebuttal on behalf of school board. 180 KB PDF.

The above three documents were obtained from the National Center for Science Education.

UPDATE 9/22/10:

The links to the above three documents have been temporarily taken down. (The documents may not have been officially released.)

Freshwater’s “closing statement brief” was released Thursday by attorney Hamilton.

UPDATE 3/17/11:

The links to the above three documents have been reactivated. (The documents are part of the public record pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 3319.16.)

What’s in the Trash, Stays in the Trash, According to Judge

Federal judge Gregory Frost on Monday rejected the attempt by John Freshwater and attorney R. Kelly Hamilton to have previously issued sanctions lifted.

Frost sidestepped the various issues raised in the dispute and went to what he believed could resolve the matter—the credibility of the parties involved in Doe v. Mount Vernon Board of Education et al.

With $28,737.50 at stake, Frost decided against Freshwater and Hamilton because Freshwater testified to having pulled items back out of the trash.

“The Court finds Freshwater’s explanation is untenable and that it taints the credibility of his entire testimony,” Frost wrote.

Freshwater had merely explained in the federal hearing, like he had in the administrative hearing, that he pitched some items into a garbage can in his barn and then retrieved the items when his attorney requested them.

Frost also focused on a similar, though separate, situation. This time, Frost wrote that it couldn’t be true that Freshwater both put the item, a Tesla coil, in a trashcan and also gave the item to his attorney.

In research done by AccountabilityInTheMedia.com, it was found to be physically possible to place something in a trashcan and then remove the item.

Perhaps for a person such as Howie Mandel, with germaphobia, it would be psychologically impossible to remove an item from a trashcan.



(Mandel talks about his fear of germs.)

Mount Vernon City Schools’ superintendent Steve Short and Mount Vernon Board of Education attorney David Millstone both testified on behalf of the plaintiffs. Neither one mentioned anything about having every removed something from a trashcan.

“The Court has no uncertainty whatsoever as to the truthfulness of the testimony of these two witnesses,” Frost wrote.

Frost did not include any details about the testimony of Short or Millstone.

Other than the trashcan issue, the only other issue Frost offered as the basis of his decision involved the dispute over whether Hamilton delivered two affidavits on April 30, 2010 to the plaintiffs’ attorney Douglas Mansfield.

It was a matter of Hamilton’s word against Mansfield’s and his two associates. Even at that, Frost wrote that he didn’t even have to include Hamilton’s side of the story in his deliberation on the matter.

Frost wrote that Hamilton didn’t properly word his affidavit about the affidavits. What Hamilton wrote in his brief about the affidavits Frost did find to be properly worded. However, Frost wrote that statements made in a brief cannot be considered “evidence.”

While Hamilton was in the federal hearing, he said a couple of times that if Frost had particular wording he was looking for on any matter to direct him in what would satisfy the court. Hamilton told the judge that he was not trying to be evasive in how he responded to the various issues.



(The Trial by Franz Kafka, starting at 1:07 in video, provides a sense of the legal proceedings regarding Freshwater.)

Frost went ahead and wrote in his decision:

“And, it appears to the Court that the language utilized in Attorney Hamilton’s affidavit is carefully crafted to appear to state that he attached the affidavits to Exhibit 161 but does not actually state such. Moreover, although the affidavit does not state that Attorney Hamilton attached the affidavits to Exhibit 161, to the extent that the affidavit was meant to state such, the Court finds the testimony unbelievable.”

Credibility of judge Frost

During the federal hearing conducted on July 29, Frost did acknowledged twice, after being pressed, that he had been mistaken on something.

One issue had to do with who Freshwater’s attorney was in Doe v. Mount Vernon Board of Education et al. The other was regarding the wording of the 2008 requests by the plaintiffs for the production of documents.

AccountabilityInTheMedia.com previously reported on Frost’s odd decision in April to grant the plaintiffs, the Dennis family, standing in regard to their claims of Establishment Clause violation. (See the article, “Christian Family Objects to Bible in Classroom.” )

The Dennises state in their lawsuit that they are Christians. The Bibles and Ten Commandments that were in Freshwater’s classroom, if seen as religious articles, were from the Dennis’ own religion. In order to have standing, the Dennis’ legal interests have to have been invaded by the presence of these items.

Frost, nonetheless, granted the Dennis’ standing.

Related document:

August 2, 2010 opinion and order by Frost on motion for reconsideration of sanctions. (Doc# 120) 28.32 KB PDF.

Judge to Reconsider Previously Issued Sanctions

The dispute over discovery in Doe v. Mount Vernon Board of Education et al. continues.

On Thursday, a hearing was held in the courtroom of federal judge Gregory Frost to reassess the basis of his previously issued sanctions against defendant John Freshwater and attorney R. Kelly Hamilton.

Douglas Mansfield, attorney for the plaintiffs, had argued that Freshwater and Hamilton failed to turn over all items requested for discovery.

Freshwater and Hamilton have maintained that they did turn over all items subject to discovery that they have.

(See documents provided at end of article for the details of this ongoing dispute.)

Collaboration among attorneys

Although Hamilton is representing Freshwater in related legal matters—another federal case, the administrative hearing and formerly for the dismissed counter claims—he is not Freshwater’s attorney in Doe v. Mount Vernon Board of Education et al.

Freshwater testified in the hearing that he believes the dispute over discovery is about the other side trying to keep Hamilton busy so that he cannot focus on the other case and on writing the “massive brief” that is coming due in the administrative hearing.

Freshwater said that the attorneys are “collaborating” against him and Hamilton.

The attorneys on the opposing side of the legal matters regarding Freshwater have done nothing to hide that they are, to some degree, working together. During the administrative hearing the school board’s attorney, David Millstone, routinely allowed the attorney for the “Doe” family to sit at the table with him.

During the federal hearing, Sarah Moore, an attorney for Mount Vernon City Schools’ superintendent Steve Short, sat at the table with the plaintiffs. Ironically, Short was a defendant in the case until a partial settlement was reached in August of 2009.

The partial settlement removed all defendants from the lawsuit except for Freshwater. The only significant monetary consideration that the plaintiffs received in the settlement was $115,500 for the reimbursement of their legal fees. The money was paid by the school board’s insurance.

Short was brought as a witness for the plaintiffs to testify about a one-sheet handwritten inventory he said he made of items that he returned to Freshwater in August of 2008.

(Short’s testimony on this matter covered the same ground as when he testified about it in the administrative hearing. See the section “Inventory of Freshwater’s personal items” in the article “BIBLE ON THE DESK: Freshwater Hearing Comes Full Circle with Last Witness.” )

Moore stated—as an explanation for why the inventory sheet was not turned over in response to public record requests from Freshwater—that it is protected by the work product doctrine and not a public record.

No explanation was provided of how the plaintiffs ended up with a copy of the inventory sheet by May 14, 2010 when they used it as an exhibit in one of their motions regarding the discovery disputes.

Also brought as a witness for the plaintiffs was Millstone, attorney for the school board. The school board, as shown by the name of the case, was the primary defendant until the partial settlement was reached in August of 2009.

Millstone testified that he had a conversation with Hamilton in which Hamilton indicated that he had recorded an interview with retired science teacher Jeff George. Millstone said that he did not request a copy of the recording. (George was not brought as a witness in the administrative hearing.)

In Mansfield’s closing arguments, he said that any recordings should be turned over to him even if the person recorded was not listed in pre-trial as a witness.

Billing records

One of the documents that Mansfield had requested was the billing records for the production of Freshwater’s May 2008 affidavits.

Freshwater testified that he had created the affidavits in preparation for what was to be the second interview with the H.R. On Call investigators.

Hamilton said in his opening statement that he does not have the billing records from May of 2008 regarding the affidavits. He explained that the records were destroyed when a water pipe burst above his computer. Hamilton provided the court with supporting documentation.

Mansfield said that it doesn’t ring true that the records were destroyed in a “flood.”

In a memorandum, Mansfield had provided his summary of Hamilton’s billing records that he was able to obtain from an attorney for the school board. He said that the records included the May 2008 time period but did not mention the production of any affidavits.

Freshwater testified in the hearing that he had four separate fee agreements with Hamilton. In a written statement, Freshwater said:

“The two bills I got from [Hamilton for May 2008] were for two different processes. One bill was for the investigative interview and the other bill was for the legal works other than the interview preparation. I have never hidden the fact that I had separate legal billings.”

Judge Frost

At the close of testimony and arguments, Frost said that he wants this case and the related case to go away more than anyone else does.

Related documents:

2008 response by Freshwater to plaintiffs’ requests for production of documents. 828.8 KB PDF.

January 20, 2010 memorandum by Hamilton responding to plaintiffs’ motion to compel. (Doc#78) 43.93 KB PDF.

May 7, 2010 motion by Mansfield for sanctions. (Doc# 96) 56.57 KB PDF.

May 10, 2010 response by Hamilton to Mansfield’s motion for sanctions. (Doc# 97) 30.76 KB PDF.

May 14, 2010 Mansfield’s response to Hamilton’s response—main. (Doc#101) 44.59 KB PDF.

May 14, 2010 Mansfield’s response to Hamilton’s response—attachment, inventory. (Doc#101-8) 81.51 KB PDF.

June 1, 2010 opinion and order by Frost on motion for sanctions. (Doc# 106) 51.7 KB PDF.

June 15, 2010 motion by Hamilton for reconsideration of Frost’s opinion and order. (Doc#107.) 23.54 KB PDF.

July 2, 2010 Mansfield’s memorandum in opposition to Hamilton’s motion—main. (Doc# 114) 59.68 KB PDF.

July 2, 2010 Mansfield’s memorandum in opposition to Hamilton’s motion—attachment, inventory and photos. (Doc# 114-3) 7.49 MB PDF.

July 13, 2010 response by Hamilton to Mansfield’s memorandum—main. (Doc# 116) 42.94 KB PDF.

July 13, 2010 response by Hamilton to Mansfield’s memorandum—attachment one, Freshwater’s affidavit concerning billing records. (Doc#116-1) 1.65 MB PDF.

July 13, 2010 response by Hamilton to Mansfield’s memorandum—attachment two. (Doc# 116-2) 27.9 KB PDF.

The National Center for Science Education maintains an archive of many of the court documents for the case Doe v. Mount Vernon Board of Education et al. and for the related case Freshwater v. Mount Vernon Board of Education et al.

MV News: Agreement reached in civil suit

According to the Mount Vernon News, an agreement has been reached “between the Doe family and John Freshwater” regarding the civil suit that was scheduled to go to trial today.

The News stated that it was unable to obtain the details of the agreement.

The attorney representing Freshwater in the federal case, Sandra McIntosh, did not respond to a previous request for comment from AccountabilityInTheMedia.com.

On July 16, 2010, AccountabilityInTheMedia.com sent the following email to McIntosh:

Will the jury trial for Doe v. Mount Vernon Board of Education et al. scheduled to begin July 26, 2010 continue as planned?

(In document number 116, attorney R. Kelly Hamilton states that “On Tuesday, July 6, 2010, the undersigned learned from communications with Attorney Sandra McIntosh that a resolution in this matter occurred on Friday, July 2, 2010, which will include resolving any concerns against John Freshwater alleged in Plaintiff’s Memorandum of Opposition [Doc. 114].”)

What was the “resolution in this matter” that occurred on July 2, 2010?

UPDATE 7-27-10:

According to the News, the "Doe" family's attorney Douglas Mansfield said that the trial was delayed due to settlement discussions. The News was unable to obtain details.

SECOND UPDATE:

For details from the settlement, see the Oct. 27, 2010 News article by Pamela Schehl, “Settlement signed by both parties in civil lawsuit.”