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RTR plaintiffs pursue temporary injunction against referendum

MARSHALL — Court documents filed Tuesday in the lawsuit against the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton School District included a motion to put a temporary halt on an upcoming special election.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed a motion for a temporary injunction in Lyon County District Court on Jan. 22, court records said. The motion asked a judge to temporarily keep RTR from proceeding with a $35 million building bond referendum scheduled for Feb. 12. The motion also asked to waive some of the filing deadlines in the lawsuit, and possibly waive a court hearing if it can’t be held before the election.

A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Feb. 6.

The lawsuit, which was filed by Gary Erdmann, Terry Gordon, Alan Martin and Stan Townsend on Jan. 17, alleges that the RTR referendum goes against the terms of the school district’s consolidation plan. Additional court documents filed Tuesday went into more detail on those allegations.

RTR first started operating as a consolidated school district on July 1, 2006. Before that, the process to consolidate the Russell, Tyler and Ruthton districts included creating a consolidation plan, the districts approving consolidation resolutions, and voters approving the consolidation in a special election. One of the terms of the consolidation plan was that a school building may be closed when RTR’s average daily membership reached 450 to 470 students.

The lawsuit alleges that the upcoming referendum question, which asks if RTR can close or demolish one or more schools in addition to issuing building bonds to build a new pre-K to 12th-grade school, goes against the consolidation plan.

A memorandum filed in the lawsuit Tuesday said the referendum “in this case is misleading the public.” The referendum would not be just to issue bonds to build a new building, but to change the consolidation plan by allowing existing buildings to be torn down, the memo said.

The lawsuit is seeking a judge’s ruling that the consolidation plan is a binding contract for the RTR school district, and that the plan can’t be changed without informing the public. The complaint also asks for a temporary restraining order against the referendum in its current form.

As of Wednesday afternoon, a response to the lawsuit from RTR had not been filed in Lyon County District Court. RTR Superintendent David Marlette said he anticipates putting out a statement to the public during a tax impact meeting on the referendum tonight. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the RTR High School gymnasium in Tyler.

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