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The ruling “clears the path” to connect the school to city water mains this summer and resolve the school’s decade-long water problems, said La Crosse School District Superintendent Jerry Kember.
The La Crosse Common Council approved the annexation request May 11.
However, Shelby can appeal to a judge for an injunction in the next 20 days. To go to a judge, a municipality first must request a ruling from the district attorney. Town of Shelby Board Chairman John Storlie said the board will discuss its legal options with its lawyer at Monday’s meeting.
“We were, of course, disappointed in (Horne’s) decision,” Storlie said. “I don’t know what we’re going to do until we as a board meet and confer with counsel.”
In his ruling, Horne said the school board acted within the law by posting “Water Supply Proposals” on its April 3 meeting agenda, when it approved the annexation.
The school now uses well water that has a foul odor and at times has been found to be tainted with coliform bacteria and other contaminants.
But Shelby officials filed for the injunction May 15, claiming the school board’s agenda didn’t pass legal muster because it didn’t specifically list “annexation” as one of three options listed in an engineering study presented to the school board that night.
But Horne said Kember notified Shelby officials of the annexation possibility four days before the meeting. Storlie said he agreed they were given sufficient notice but argued the public wasn’t.
While the agenda item wasn’t “ideal,” it still fell within the provisions of open meetings law, Horne said.
“I found no effort (by the school district) to back door anyone,” Horne said at a Monday afternoon press conference.
Horne cited a 1999 Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruling involving an open meetings challenge in the city of Stoughton. In it, the court ruled, in part: “... we decline to burden municipalities with an obligation to detail every issue that will be discussed under every agenda item during meetings when that is not mandated by statute.”
Horne agreed, saying local governing bodies must balance the public’s right to adequate notice with the burden on agenda-preparers to write “a small novel” to encompass all possible agenda items.
“We need to avoid a straightjacket on those who prepare agendas,” he said.
Dan Simmons can be reached at (608) 791-8217 or dsimmons@lacrossetribune.com.
