A decision in a Collier County case involving an injunction to prevent the county's school board from signing a contract with a newly named superintendent will be made, "as soon as I can," the judge hearing the case said Thursday.
Conservative political influencer and businessman Francis "Alfie" Oaks filed a request for a temporary restraining order May 17 seeking to prevent the Collier County School Board from entering into a contract with newly selected superintendent, Dr. Leslie C. Ricciardelli.
Ricciardelli has been interim superintendent since December and a contract for her to become the new superintendent has not yet been signed.
The next school board meeting is a work session on June 12 and a main meeting June 13. A revised proposed employment agreement between the board and Ricciardelli is on the work session agenda, as a consent agenda item for the regular meeting and lists an annual compensation of $305,000 for the position.
School board officials have declined to comment on the case due to the pending litigation.
The Oakes request was heard Thursday afternoon before Collier County Circuit Court Judge Joseph G. Foster.
Foster heard arguments via a Zoom-based hearing from attorneys for Oakes and the school board on whether or not the board's use of a search company and some of the aspects of that search were violations of the Florida Sunshine Law.
Attorney Steven Bracci, representing Oakes, claimed the search was done without public input, calling some aspects of the selection a "foregone conclusion" and a "secret decision."
He charged that the selection company, education consulting firm Hazard Young Attea & Associates of Schaumberg, Ill., preventing the public from seeing the selection process in detail and that decisions made by HYA were "rubberstamped" by the board.
Attorney Sam Zeskind, representing the school board, countered the private company aspect of HYA made it not subject to the state's Sunshine Law and no decision-making was delegated to the company.
Additionally, Zeskind said subsequent actions by the board to discuss superintendent candidates was a "cure" that resolved any possible issues. He also asked for the suit to be dismissed, saying Oakes will not be able to prove that the district violated state sunshine law.
At the end of the meeting the judge asked if either side wanted him to watch the more than 20 hours of school board meeting video before he made his decision.
Foster said if they did want him to view the entirety of the videos submitted it would delay his ruling.
Bracci said the judge did not have to watch all 20 hours but possibly a few clips that were pertinent. Zeskind told the judge that if he felt there was no violation then he would not need to watch the videos. But, he added, if the judge was leaning toward agreeing that there had been a violation by the board then it would be important for him to watch all of the video evidence.
Foster gave no indication what he would do or when he would rule except to say it would come "As soon as I can."
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