Photo by Jenny Kirk Former Duluth Public Schools board member Art Johnston speaks to a large audience of residents in the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton School District on Monday at the Russell Town Hall. Johnston was brought in by a group of residents who oppose the referendum option to build a new pre-K through 12th grade building and potentially close up to three of its current facilities.

RUSSELL — The saga continues in the long-term facilities improvement process for Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Schools as a motion hearing date has been scheduled for Feb. 6, in Lyon County District Court in regards to a lawsuit filed against the district last week.

Area residents Gary Erdmann, Terry Gordon, Alan Martin and Stan Townsend filed the civil complaint against RTR, seeking a temporary restraining order in reference to the Feb. 12 referendum in its current form. The group alleges the upcoming referendum question goes against RTR’s consolidation plan — a plan they say is a binding contract for the district and one that cannot be changed without fully informing the public.

RTR Superintendent Dave Marlette disagrees.

“This group feels that the 2006 consolidation document can’t be changed — that it’s good forever,” Marlette said. “We disagree with that. And our lawyers disagree with that position. That document was approved by the voters of the district and can be changed by the voters of the district. There’s not a document in the world that can’t be changed by the voters. The Constitution has been changed 27 times.”

Marlette said RTR will continue its referendum process, adding that the district has 20 days — until Feb. 6 — to file paperwork in response to the lawsuit. He anticipates putting out a statement to the public at the 7 p.m. tax impact meeting on Thursday in the RTR High School gymnasium, where several professionals will be in attendance to answer questions about the facilities plan and upcoming referendum.

“The attorney has said, and a lot of other people have, too, that once the district started voting — absentee voting began on Dec. 28 — the election needs to continue,” he said. “So that’s what we’re going on. The lawyer pointed out that schools would never have elections if every time an elected started, someone filed a $50 suit.”

Erdmann is among a group of “no” voters in the district who are members of the Betterment of RTR Committee, which includes a Facebook following since mid-December. On Monday, nearly 100 people attended a meeting set up by the Betterment of RTR Committee.

Over the course of two-and-a-half hours, Art Johnston, a civil engineer and former Duluth Public Schools board member, shared information and basically encouraged people to question everything regarding school district operations.

“If we don’t get the facts right, we’ll get the decisions wrong,” Johnston said.

Johnston’s PowerPoint included a lot of “watch out for” areas of potential concern.

“Larger buildings have more maintenance costs,” he said. “And a new building doesn’t necessarily equate to good education.”

Johnston gave his opinion — though he clarified it was not as a professional engineer — about the RTR facilities after a question was posed by a resident in attendance.

“I thought the schools were really not too bad,” Johnston said. “The lower level is pretty bad at Tyler. I don’t know why they didn’t fix that up. You have to fix them up. They need work. I’ve seen a lot worse schools, but it’s up to you.”

The three RTR schools currently in use are between 68 and 75 years old. One audience member asked what hidden costs there might be to renovate or add on to the existing buildings. Johnston admitted that everything would have to be brought up to code.

In addition to elevators in order to be in compliance with the American Disabilities Act at two of the facilities, there would be mandatory upgrades which include sprinkler systems, plumbing, electrical and air quality.

“If you renovate, then you have to bring those up to code,” Johnston said.

If the cost of the fix-up is 60 percent or more than the price tag of a new facility, the state of Minnesota suggests building new.

Marlette, who said there is no doubt that the renovation costs would be more than 60 percent, said residents have the opportunity to seek out the facts for themselves at the meeting on Thursday. Professionals that are expected to be in attendance include licensed architect Kyle Raph from CO-OP Architecture, R.A. Morton construction manager Preston Euerie, Springsted finance representative Kelly Smith and PMA Financial’s Steven Pumper, who will talk about instruction earning.

“I’ll give a little presentation in the gym to start,” Marlette said. “Then we have rooms divided up in the school, so we’ll put the professionals in different rooms. People can rotate around and ask their questions.”

Marlette also suggests resident bring copies of their tax statement and give them to the Smith, who will then email everyone back with an estimate in the next few days.

Comprehensive booklets are also expected to be delivered to every resident household in the district, likely to arrive today. Marlette said he just hopes people remain civil and just let the referendum speak for itself.

“I wish all the emotions would settle down and people would make an informed decision,” Marlette said. “Vote ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Our district people are smart enough to make good decisions. We don’t have to get where neighbors are fighting with neighbors.”