A Gwinnett County judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to stop the Gwinnett School District, Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks, and the Georgia School Boards Association from campaigning against the charter schools amendment.
Judge Dawson Jackson made his decision on procedural grounds due to a late filing by plaintiffs’ attorney Josh Belinfante. He was seeking an injunction on behalf of four Gwinnett citizens who complain the defendants were using public time and taxpayer money to advocate against the ballot question.
Belinfante cited examples of weekly conference calls, passage of board resolutions and referenda, and also campaigning around the state during school time.
“While we’re disappointed in the result, we certainly wish the merits could have been reached, but this is what attorneys do and the defendants were well-represented in the case,” he tells WSB’s Sandra Parrish.
Victoria Sweeny, who represents Gwinnett County schools and Wilbanks, told the judge no public funds have been used to oppose the amendment and Wilbanks, who donated $5,000 of his personal money to the campaign to oppose it, was within his First Amendment rights.
“Just because we are a public employee or we are an elected official, we don’t lose those First Amendment rights, and the public has a right to hear from their leaders,” she says.
Belinfante says with the election less than two weeks away, time is running out to file an appeal or a new lawsuit.
It’s the second case lost by plaintiffs upset over the opposition by local school boards to the amendment. A Fulton County judge ruled earlier this month that Fulton County schools did not violate the law with a question and answer section on its website.