Liberty school board to consider suing state over voucher program

STAFF REPORT

LIBERTY — The school district is ready to take action against the state to recover money spent to send students to private schools using vouchers.

The school board is expected to pass a resolution at its meeting today to allow Superintendent Mark Lucas to hire a team of lawyers to represent the school in a lawsuit for free, according to a statement released to the media. Officials did not say where or when the meeting would be, and Lucas could not be reached.

He said in the statement that the district will argue that the vouchers are unconstitutional.

A recent change by the state Legislature required Liberty to be included in the group of schools that had to honor the Ed Choice vouchers, a program that offers tuition vouchers for children in academically troubled public schools to attend private schools.

E.J. Blott Elementary School had been in academic watch for two years, making pupils there eligible for the voucher program in 2007-08, but it has moved up to continuous improvement.

According to school officials, 35 pupils entered the system from private schools in February 2007 and April 2007. All 35 pupils withdrew from the district at the end of the school year, taking the voucher and funds that would normally go to Liberty schools to private schools.

Lucas said the district will lose those funds each year until those students graduate from high school.