Davis Parents Take Second Swing at D303 Merger Plan Lawsuit

The group of parents seeking a legal block to District 303's merger plan have adjusted their , while also reviving its call to move the case back to Kane County.

While D303 puts together its response to those issues, its attorneys are accusing the group of "forum shopping" and wants it to pay the district for thousands in legal fees related to the case, according to court records.

D303's plan to into two new grade-level centers is viewed by the group as the district's way of circumventing state rules for improving test scores at Richmond after  and, down the road, the potential for mandatory restructuring if it continues to register failing numbers during five consecutive school years, according to the amended suit filed on April 28.

"D303 is attempting to enlarge the period of time in which D303 students may continue to fail to achieve satisfactory ISAT scores so as to artificially defer the time when a mandatory restructuring that would be imposed under the Code after a fifth failing year," the suit states. "The Plan is particularly disruptive to the parents of children and children who attend Davis, since Davis students are currently performing adequately on the ISAT."

The district previously denied the general allegations about the plan's intentions, but has not filed a response to the amended complaint, which includes the suggestion that the merger plan does nothing to fix failing scores among certain student subgroups at Richmond and offers no scientific backing for how the plan would improve scores.

"The Plan adopted by the District 303 Board of Education responds to conditions in both affected schools and is designed to enhance the education of all the students of both schools," the district said in a statement last month. "It is our position these decisions belong with the elected Board of Education and not in the courts."

Meanwhile, the district wants legal fees incurred defending the suit to be paid for by the parents' group, which  has used "unreasonable and vexatious conduct" to increase the district's expenses "all at the busiest time of the school year, in the midst of a financial crisis," the district's motion states.

The district states it has spent in excess of $25,000 on the case, as of the April 22 filing.

The group has done so, among other ways, by filing an original lawsuit filled with federal claims against the district and then fighting the case's placement in federal court. A federal judge last month denied the parents' request to send the case back to Kane County, prompting their decision to amend the complaint.

In its second attempt to have the lawsuit heard by a Kane judge, the group points out only violations of the Illinois School Code are alleged, leaving the federal court with no jurisdiction. The district has until later this month to respond to the request.

A hearing is scheduled for May 26, when the judge is expected to rule on the latest remand request.