Arlee parents appeal to OPI

The Arlee parents who are demanding to know what punishment two teachers received for allegedly providing alcohol to students have taken their grievance to the state Office of Public Instruction after the county superintendent ruled he didn't have jurisdiction over their requests.

Randy and Michelle Meidinger were notified late last month that superintendent Gale Decker had rejected their grievance, and Randy Meidinger said he isn't optimistic about his chances with the state superintendent's office, but he vowed to take his case to district court if necessary.

"I was a little bit surprised but not shocked," Randy Meidinger said of Decker's decision, in which the superintendent explained that he doesn't have direct jurisdiction over the issues outlined in their grievance.

The Meidingers' fight began last summer, when their daughter and 13 other students were allegedly offered alcohol by Arlee teachers Shawn Orr and Jeff Padgett while on an overnight field trip, much of which took place out of state. Both Orr and Padgett were disciplined in a closed-door session in August, but the terms of their discipline were not made public, one of many frustrations the Meidingers have with the situation.

They took their protests to the school board, and then filed a grievance with Decker's office. In that grievance, they claimed the August disciplinary meeting should have been open to the public; that certain board members should have abstained from voting due to conflicts of interest; and that board members violated both state law and the district's policy by not fully enforcing the laws related to providing alcohol to minors.

But after reading the grievance, Decker rejected it, saying the Meidingers didn't have "standing" on many of the issues, and that some of their grievance was outside his authority. Decker made his decision after consulting with an attorney who specializes in educational issues, he said.

"A big part of their grievance is alleging violations of the state constitution. The [state] Supreme Court has made it quite clear that only they will be deciding that, not county superintendents," Decker said. "Those are constitutional violations, and I don't have the authority to rule on those."

Decker issued his response on Oct. 26, triggering a 30-day appeal period for the Meidingers, who filed their appeal with OPI last Friday, Nov. 17. OPI officials confirmed they received the appeal but the attorney assigned to handle the appeal was out of town earlier this week and has not had time to review it.

While the timeframe for citizens and county superintendents is spelled out clearly, OPI has a more general time frame to issue a ruling on the situation, noted Bud Williams, deputy state school superintendent.

"We did get an appeal. Typically, there is a 75 to 80 day period for filing briefs, and then the boss has about 90 days to issue a ruling," Williams said of state superintendent Linda McCulloch.

Randy Meidinger said he won't be surprised if McCulloch rejects his appeal for the same reasons Decker did, but he must go through the formal grievance process before he can take legal action, he noted.

"I think the state will say the same thing as the county superintendent. Really, I want to go to district court, which is the next step anyway," Randy Meidinger said. "It's a constitutional issue. The teachers have a right to privacy but we as the public have a right to know [what their punishment was]. Teachers' rights don't supersede the public's right to know."

Meidinger said his allegations of a conflict of interest by the Arlee board stem from the fact that two board members have had personal or business relationships with one of the teachers, and that one board member's daughter was also on the trip.

Meidinger said he spoke with both teachers, and that Padgett acknowledged making beer available. Meidinger says of the 14 students on the trip, all but two or three of them drank.

Padgett and Orr did not respond to requests for an interview.

For now, the Meidingers are considering setting up a fund to help with expected legal expenses. They've had a local attorney who has children in the school district help them with the grievance paperwork at no charge, but they said they'll need funding in the event they take it to district court.

"We've had at least two dozen people call to offer us legal fees, but we've turned them all away," Meidinger said. "But we want to set up an account now, one that's legal, and go through the proper process for that, to help with the legal fees."

Meidinger said he feels like they are fighting a pretty big bureaucracy.

"You're fighting against a big system," he said. "The county superintendent's legal staff is the county attorney. For OPI, it's the state attorney general. We don't feel like we have any advocates."