Conservative political influencer and businessman Francis "Alfie" Oaks filed a temporary restraining order seeking to prevent the Collier County School Board from entering into a contract with newly selected superintendent Dr. Leslie C. Ricciardelli.
Oakes filed the action Wednesday in Collier County Circuit Court. No date has been set for a hearing.
The Collier County School Board appointed Ricciardelli as superintendent the night of May 3 after a multiple-month search.
In the order Oakes made numerous allegations against the board and the selection process including claims of Sunshine Law violations which the restraining order says "caused irreparable injury to the public at large, including the plaintiff (Oakes)." Additionally, Oakes' action claims the school board wrongly delegated authority to a separate group, education consulting firm Hazard Young Attea & Associates of Schaumberg, Ill., preventing the public from seeing the selection process in detail.
The Oakes' 60-page injunction order also lists actions by Ricciardelli it claims are against the "desired characteristics" sought in a candidate for superintendent by the board including financial acumen. Among those listed actions were a residential foreclosure and a violation of the Collier County Land Development Code.
The order seeks to have any agreement on a contract with Ricciardelli prevented as well as voiding her selection altogether.
Jennifer Kupiec, a communications specialist for Collier County schools, declined comment other than to say: "The district -– including the superintendent -– does not comment on pending litigation."
Oakes, represented by Attorney Steven J. Bracci of Naples, could not be reached for comment.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
