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Montana Independent Trizette,

Petitioner and Appellant,

v.

Rankin School District No. 1 Board of Trustees,

Defendant and Respondent.

Charlotte "Hotshot" Coach ["Coach"] graduated from Southeastern Montana University ["SMU"] in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in history and physical education. Coach, who attended college on a full-ride basketball scholarship, accepted a part-time civics position with Rankin Public Schools, District No. 1, Rankin, Montana ["RPS"] for the 1995-96 school year. Further, she was Rankin's equality coordinator, yearbook advisor, and varsity boys' basketball coach.

Rankin in 1995 was the third largest "AA" high school in Montana. Although all of its other extracurricular activities were competitive, its boys' basketball program had suffered through 16 consecutive losing seasons. Coach was hired by RPS based upon her excellent collegiate basketball career -- she was an All-American I-AA -- and her coaching work with disadvantaged youth at SMU. While many of the Rankin Steers' supporters were skeptical if a female coach could turn the boys' basketball program around, they were willing to try anything.

To most everyone's surprise and joy, Coach turned the boys' basketball program around. In her first year, the boy's basketball team took 4th place at the state AA tournament. This was followed by the Steers taking first place in boys' basketball for three consecutive seasons--an unprecedented feat. The Steers made it to the state tournament for two additional years, placing 5th and 3rd respectively. Although Coach's career record through the 2001-02 season as the Steers head boys' basketball coach was 172-21, her team failed to make the state tournament, losing the district playoff game 78-77 in triple OT.

Coach attributed her teams' successes over the years to hard work and solid teamwork. However, her loyal supporters contended that it was her fairness when building the team and her tough, unequivocal discipline that had turned the program around. To play on her team, a boy had to sign a contract acknowledging the participation rules and the consequences if he broke one or more of them. Coach's rules, which were tougher than any other Montana AA school's participation rules, contained an "alcohol zero tolerance" provision that required that a team member could not even be present when alcohol was consumed by underage minors. Further, the rules contained a 10:00 p.m. school day curfew provision.

John Leader was the elected chairperson of the Rankin School Board. Leader, a successful third-generation Rankin business owner, was a graduate of Rankin High School. In fact, he had been the captain of the 1979 boys' basketball team which won the state AA tournament -- the last time the Steers had made the state basketball tournament prior to Coach assuming the head coach position.

Leader's son, John Leader, Junior ["Junior"] had played on the Steer's varsity basketball team starting in 2000-01, his sophomore year. Although there was a widespread dispute in Rankin whether Junior's on-the-court antics (a technical foul with 3 seconds left in the third overtime) had cost the 2001-02 boys' basketball team its opportunity to make the state AA tournament, everyone was looking forward to the 2002-03 boys' basketball season, particularly Leader and Junior. Several top collegiate basketball programs had shown interest in Junior's athletic and academic abilities.

As predicted, the 2002-03 Steers were undefeated going into the state AA boys' basketball tournament. Everyone in Rankin was looking forward to the Steers regaining their position on top of AA boys' basketball during the March 6-8, 2003 state tournament.

On Tuesday, March 4, 2003, Brittany Cheers ["Cheers"], the Steers' head cheerleader, decided to host a pre-tournament celebration "function" at her home for the senior cheerleaders and the three seniors on the boys' basketball team. Her parents were out of town. Among Cheers' guests was Junior, her boyfriend. Although Cheers had planned her party to be alcohol-free, at 9:35 p.m., five uninvited kids crashed her party bringing three cases of beer with them. Although Cheers was afraid that things might get out of hand, she was afraid to call the police because she had not told her parents about her "function."

Knowing that Coach might randomly call their homes to see if they were breaking curfew, Junior's two senior team members left Cheers' home the moment the crashers arrived. Junior, however, remained with Cheers to keep things from getting further out of hand. At 10:10 p.m., in response to a call from the neighbors, the Rankin police department arrived just as the five crashers drove away. Beer bottles were strewn all over Cheers' yard. Junior was holding a partially filled bottle of beer. Cheers was in tears.

On the morning of Wednesday, March 5, 2003, Coach learned about the "function" from the high school's on-site police officer. Coach immediately contacted Cheers and Junior. When Junior admitted to Coach that he had been out after the 10:00 p.m. curfew last night and he had been holding a bottle of beer when the police arrived at Cheers' home, Coach kicked Junior off the boys' basketball team. Junior protested that he had not been drinking alcohol--he was merely cleaning up the yard--and that he violated the curfew because he could not leave Cheers alone with the five crashers. Coach responded, "I'm sorry, but rules are rules."

Junior immediately told his father that he had been kicked off the basketball team--one day before the state AA boys' basketball tournament. Leader called the Rankin school superintendent and told him to notify the other school board members that a special meeting of the Board was going to be held that day (3/5/03) at 2:30 p.m. Further, the Superintendent was told to tell Coach that she was required to attend the Board's meeting.

Pat Writer, education reporter for the Montana Independent Trizette, who happened to be interviewing the District's drivers' education supervisor for a series on teenage drunk driving accidents, overheard the Superintendent's assistant notifying the Trustees of the 2:30 p.m. special board meeting. When Writer asked the Superintendent for the meeting agenda, the Superintendent told Writer that a written agenda had not yet been prepared. When Writer asked what the purpose of the meeting was, the Superintendent told Writer to ask Leader.

At 11:30 a.m., the Superintendent's assistant did notify three of the local radio stations and both local television stations that a special meeting of the Board of Trustees was going to be held that afternoon at 2:30 p.m. regarding a confidential personnel matter. They all said they would see what they could do to provide the public with notice of the Board's special meeting, but none could guarantee notice would be possible due to their ongoing live coverage of a major earthquake in southern California.

Only five of the seven Trustees were able to make the 2:30 p.m. Board's special meeting. Following the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, Board Chair Leader announced to all present that the meeting involved confidential personnel and student matters, and, as he had already determined that the expectations of privacy outweighed the public's right to know, he declared the meeting closed and asked that the room be cleared of all non-parties. When Coach stood up to leave, Leader told her to sit down. When Writer protested that insufficient notice of the meeting had been given and that the meeting could not legally be closed, Leader told Writer to leave. Under protest, Writer left.

During the closed meeting, Leader instructed Coach to reinstate Junior on the boys' varsity basketball team. Coach refused. Leader argued to the other Trustees that Junior was a victim of circumstances beyond his control and that Rankin High's opportunity to win the state AA boys' basketball tournament would be lost without Junior on the team. Further, Leader would personally sue the school district if his son failed to receive a college scholarship as the result of Coach's action.

Other Board members concurred that Coach's penalty seemed disproportionate for the infraction under these circumstance. Coach responded that she had cut other kids from the team during the regular season for violating curfew and attending parties where illegal alcohol consumption had occurred. "If I am going to be the head coach, then I must be able to apply the rules consistently and fairly. Rules are rules." Coach refused to budge or compromise.

Trustee Smith moved that Coach be terminated as the boys' varsity basketball coach, and the assistant coach, Ted Caver, be hired as her replacement. Trustee Ivanovich seconded the motion. The Board voted 4-1 in favor of the motion. Leader then opened the Board meeting to the public and announced that Coach Coach had been replaced with Coach Caver effective immediately. The meeting was adjourned.

On Friday, March 7, 2003, the Montana Independent Trizette filed a Complaint before Judge Yerhonor, 40th Judicial District, alleging the RPS Board of Trustees violated the law when they met on March 5, 2003. Among other things, the Newspaper alleged: (1) that the Board of Trustees failed to provide the public with adequate notice of their March 5, 2003 special meeting; (2) that no "emergency" existed requiring waiver of the statutory notice requirements; (3) that Board Chairperson Leader failed to determine properly that the demands of Coach's individual privacy clearly exceeded the merits of public disclosure; and (4) the person (Coach) whose individual privacy was at issue was not afforded the opportunity to waive her privacy. The Montana Independent Trizette asked that the Court void the Board's March 5, 2003 decision to terminate Coach and to award the newspaper its attorneys' fees. As the facts were not in dispute, the Board moved for summary judgment. (When there are no disputed issues of material fact, a summary judgment motion allows a judge to decide the case as a matter of law, and it doesn't need to go to trial.)

Judge Yerhonor granted the Board of Trustees' motion for summary judgment on all issues. For the purpose of its appeal, The Montana Independent Trizette has combined its four issues as follows:

Appeal Issue Two: Did Chairperson Leader properly balance the public's right to know against the demands of the individual's (Coach) privacy as required by Montana Code Annotated § 2-3-203(3)? Did Chairperson Leader have a duty to ask the person (Coach), who was the subject of the Board's meeting, whether she wanted to waive her right of individual privacy as provided for in Montana Code Annotated § 2-3-203(3)?

Cavers coached the Steers' team to second place at the March 2003 State AA tournament. Junior played the first two games, but was hospitalized with appendicitis on March 8, 2003. Nevertheless, he received a full-ride basketball scholarship from SMU. Coach was hired as the head coach of the Indiana University men's basketball team.

Montana Constitution:

Article 2, § 8 Right of participation.

Article 2, § 9 Right to know.

Article 2, § 10 Right of privacy.

Montana Code Annotated

MCA § 2-3-103(1)(a)

MCA § 2-3-104(4)

MCA § 2-3-105(1) and (4)

MCA § 2-3-112

MCA § 2-3-203

Administrative Rules of Montana:

For the purpose of your appeal, assume the following:

1) 48 hours is generally adequate notice for a public meeting in Montana.

2) Four trustees constitute a quorum for a Rankin Public School Board meeting.

3) The Board chair may vote on all issues.

4) The Board chair may direct that a Trustee meeting be held; otherwise two other Trustees may request that a special board meeting be held.

Montana Case Law:

Common Cause of Mont. v. Statutory Comm. to Nominate Candidates for Comm'r of Political Practices (1994), 263 Mont. 324, 868 P.2d 604.

Flesh v. Bd. of Trustees (1990), 241 Mont. 158, 786 P.2d 4.

Missoulian v. Bd. of Regents (1984), 207 M 513, 675 P.2d 962.

Sonstelie v. Bd. of Trustees (1983), 202 Mont. 414, 658 P.2d 413.

NOTES ON AUTHORITIES:

Analyze the statutory language in the context of the applicable facts. You have been provided with complete copies of the Montana cases listed above. However, please note that the Montana Supreme Court decisions do address other legal issues that have nothing to do with the applicable issues in this appeal. Focus only on those portions of these decisions that are necessary for you to argue your case effectively. You probably will have some cases that you will choose not to use in your argument.

Appeal Issue One: Montana's Constitution contains a specific provision regarding the public's right to participate. The applicable statutes (MCA §§ 2-3-103, 104, and 105) address the procedures that a governmental entity must follow when it is going to meet. MCA § 2-3-112 sets forth the exceptions to these procedural requirements. Your argument should focus on the proper application of the statutes to applicable the facts. The Sonstelie and the Common Cause of Montana decisions each address what was in their respective circumstance proper notice. You need to decide whether they provide any guidance in this appeal, and if so, how.

Appeal Issue Two: The applicable statute (MCA § 2-3-203(3)) is the Legislature's attempt to address the tension in Montana's Constitution between the public's right to know (Constitution, Article 2, § 9) and an individual's right of privacy (Constitution, Article 2, § 10). Like Appeal Issue One, you must apply the statute's provisions to the facts of the case considering what the Montana Supreme Court has decided in the past is a reasonable balance between these competing interests. The Missoulian and the Flesh decisions each reflect how the courts addressed these competing interests.