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Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Ind. Decisions - "Evansville public school families who paid a $20 student activity fee now may get it back"

John Martin of the Evansville Courier& Press reports today:

A judge ruled Monday that Evansville public school families who paid a $20 student activity fee now may get it back.

The Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corp. charged the fee to all its students in the 2002-03 academic year. In 2003-04, it was charged to students not eligible for free and reduced-price lunches.

The fee was levied during a budget crisis when EVSC faced the prospect of cutting programs and employees. It raised about $600,000 over the two years. The fee has not been charged since.

EVSC parents Frank Nagy and Sonja Brackett sued, arguing that the fee was unconstitutional "tuition" for public school. They prevailed. Superior Court Judge J. Douglas Knight's original ruling that the fee could be charged was reversed this year by the Indiana Supreme Court.

The question then became whether EVSC had to refund the money.

Knight's ruling issued Monday states that EVSC "shall promptly notify all persons who pay the activity fee (a) that they are entitled to a refund of the fee and (b) how to collect that refund."

Each family that paid the fee "shall be allowed a reasonable amount of time within which to apply for the refund," Knight wrote, adding that the refund shall be payable regardless of whether a particular student participated in activities funded by the fee.

For example, a parent of two children who attended EVSC in both years the fee was charged could apply to receive $80.

Nagy and Brackett are members of the Vanderburgh County Taxpayers Association. David Coker, the president of that group, said in an e-mail that "everybody is simply ecstatic" over the ruling.

Patrick Shoulders, EVSC's attorney, said the corporation "will not appeal."

"We're going to abide by it in good faith. Those parents who want their $20 back who paid it, we're going to get them a check."

Plaintiffs in the case didn't receive every concession they sought from Knight.

Indiana Civil Liberties Union Attorney Jacquelyn Bowie Suess, who represented Nagy and Brackett, had argued that all parents who paid the fee should be refunded in full.

Because Knight instead ordered that an application process be established, the financial impact on EVSC will not be as significant, Shoulders said.

"That's far different from what the Civil Liberties Union wanted," Shoulders said. "There are going to be parents who have moved, parents who say, 'Keep my $20.' There are going to be parents who won't fill out the claim form ... .

"Kids who were seniors in high school when the fee was imposed are now seniors in college. It's going to be interesting to see how many citizens out there really want their $20 back."

The ICLU sought a reimbursement of $80,000 in attorney fees from the school corporation. Knight denied that request.

Access the Supreme Court decision in Frank Nagy, et al. v. Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation via this 3/30/06 ILB entry. Access a list of entries related to the Nagy case here.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 13, 2006 08:50 AM
Posted to Ind. Sup.Ct. Decisions