COMPLETE VICTORY!!!! SUMMARY JUDGMENT GRANTED! ALL claims brought by the Roxbury librarian against Roxbury moms Christina Balestriere and Kristen Cobo dismissed! "This was all protected expression of opinion," More to come!@CoboKristen@ChristinaMB122https://t.co/qDY253ivIM
"Roxbury, NJ parents, Kristen Cobo and Christina Balestriere stood up
when the Roxbury school library began promoting sexually explicit books
to children.
After becoming aware of a multitude of sexually
explicit, vulgar books available to minor children in their public
school district, these parents followed the appropriate steps to address
their concerns. After speaking with the librarian and district
administration proved to be ineffective, these mothers began speaking at
Roxbury Board of Education meetings regarding their concerns; providing
evidence as to why these books are inappropriate and pose a risk to the
safety of minors.
In response to the concerns raised by these parents, the school librarian doubled down and promoted these books, tweeting from the Roxbury Media’s page about “banned books week”, encouraging students to read these books.
When Kristen and Christina continued to speak up at school board meetings to exercise their First Amendment Right to petition to government at a public forum, the school librarian sued. The librarian's husband is an attorney, so she is not paying legal fees. This frivolous lawsuit is a transparent attempt
to silence parents who stand up to question whether books with graphic
sexual content should be promoted for reading by children."
The
attorney for the Christian County Library Board of Trustees has sued
the Board for allegedly violating its bylaws for election of officers
at the August 27, 2024 meeting. See HERE.
The board’s attorney, Harry Styron, is representing the board in
the suit against...the board.
Although
the original complaint named board Secretary Janis Hagen as the
plaintiff along with the “Christian County Library District,”
that has since been amended to name only the Library District, which
in essence, is the governing body—the Christian County Library
Board of Trustees.
While
officer elections are mandated in the bylaws for December, the bylaws
do not specifically prohibit officer elections at other times of the
year. Indeed, when occasional vacancies and July trustee appointments occur
the Board has held elections then, as recently as 2023.
It
makes sense that officer elections would also occur in July since the
Christian County Commission appoints library board members each year
at that time, or whenever a vacancy occurs.
However,
the lawsuit revolves around the attempt to prevent the newly-elected
board from assuming their positions.
BACKGROUND
HISTORY
At
the July 26, 2021 board meeting Secretary Janis Hagen was
absent, and a board vacancy prompted an election of officers that
included leaving the office of President vacant
until December, and to have Trustee Hagen remain in her position as
board secretary.
Listed
under Old Business, a vice-president and treasurer were elected, as
well as a member-at-large. The minutes read exactly as follows:
“Election
of Board of Trustee Officer Positions for Remainder of 2021.”
Each
of five positions is then noted, with
accompanying explanation. The full slate of officers (as well
as the member-at-large position) was listed to be elected, although
the Board decided not to elect a president due to the board vacancy.
Three positions were elected and one position remained the same.
At
the July
25, 2023
Board meeting, a president, vice-president, and treasurer were
elected. Hagen remained as secretary. The following December meeting
was a reaffirmation of the same slate.
The board attorney, therefore, has sued the board for doing what it has
already
been
doing for several years.
Why now?
At
the September 24, 2024 board meeting, the board voted to amend the
bylaws to specifically state that officer elections can occur at any time of
the year, as warranted. The
annual
mandated
election of officers will remain as
well, but
in July instead of December.
This affirms what has already been occurring in the last few years.
Video
below, scroll to about 54 minutes in for discussion of the bylaw changes.
THE
MISSOURI SUNSHINE LAW
One
other issue mentioned in the lawsuit is a purported violation of the
Sunshine law. Because
the August agenda called for a vice-president election, and not
typically
“officer elections,” the lawsuit claims the public was not
properly notified. The Missouri
Sunshine
law
states, “All
public governmental bodies shall give notice of the time, date, and
place
of
each meeting, and its tentative agenda, in a manner reasonably
calculated
to
advise the public of the matters to be considered…”
Since
officer shuffles often happen, even if only one officer is slated
to
be elected, the library staff member who wrote the agenda would have
better served the public and the Board by using the term “officer
elections.” The question then,
was the public “reasonably” advised of a board election?
Incidentally,
the library board has often
elected members to the Member-at-Large position. However, that seems
to have ended with the appointments of Diana Brazeale and Echo
Schneider in 2023.
