{"id":41513,"date":"2022-03-25T00:23:25","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T06:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/pagosa-springs-lawyer-files-suit-against-montezuma-cortez-school-board\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:01:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:01:30","slug":"pagosa-springs-lawyer-files-suit-against-montezuma-cortez-school-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/pagosa-springs-lawyer-files-suit-against-montezuma-cortez-school-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Pagosa Springs lawyer files suit against Montezuma-Cortez school board"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Attorney
Attorney Matt Roane says he hopes his work with open records law inspires others to become government watchdogs.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

A Pagosa Springs lawyer has filed a lawsuit against the Montezuma-Cortez School District, seeking to invalidate the board\u2019s separation agreement with ousted Superintendent Risha VanderWey and to bar the board from taking formal action without legal public notice.<\/p>\n

The legal complaint was filed about a month after the RE-1 Board of Education placed VanderWey on administrative leave. VanderWey was given the choice to resign or be fired, a decision made without a public discussion and likely in violation of Colorado\u2019s Sunshine Law.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy jaw sort of dropped, like, \u2018Wait a minute, what\u2019s going on here? This whole process is so shrouded in secrecy, there\u2019s got to be more to it,\u2019\u201d lawyer Matthew Roane told The Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Journal <\/em>reported March 15 that board President Sheri Noyes acted alone in asking VanderWey for her resignation during a Jan. 18 executive session. It was unclear whether the board reached a consensus to support Noyes\u2019 request. At least one board member, Cody Wells, said he knew of no prior decision.<\/p>\n

Noyes announced Jan. 24 that VanderWey had been placed on administrative leave Jan. 21, and a news release Jan. 29 announced VanderWey\u2019s official resignation, also effective Jan. 21 \u2013 six days after she received low marks on a performance evaluation. She held the job less than seven months.<\/p>\n

The Journal<\/em> learned about the school board\u2019s decision-making process after examining more than 100 emails and messages it obtained through a Colorado Open Records Act request.<\/p>\n

About the same time, Roane requested a recording of the Jan. 18 executive session held to discuss the school board\u2019s evaluations of VanderWey.<\/p>\n

\n

Timeline: Roane\u2019s Colorado Open Records Act requests<\/h4>\n

Roane\u2019s first request on Feb. 8: <\/strong>\u201c1. Recording of the Board of Education\u2019s executive session held on 1\/18\/22;2. Portion of the meeting of the Board of Education\u2019s executive session held on 1\/18\/22 memorializing formal action and\/or the undertaking of a position; and3. Copy of notice and agenda for meeting where Board of Education decided to place the former superintendent VanderWey on administrative leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

District response:<\/strong>\u201cItems 1 and 2 on your request are not public accessible records. With that said, I can inform you the minutes of the 1\/18\/2022 meeting clearly reflect compliance with the Open Meetings Law and C.R.S. 22-32-108 (d), reflecting the proper motion to convene into executive session, including the topic of discussion at the executive session as well as the amount of time the topic was discussed while in executive session. Those meeting minutes will be approved at the Feb. 22nd, 2022, meeting and available on our website on 2\/23\/2022.\u201dThe recording of this executive session was inadvertently and unintentionally not recorded. Item 3 on your request can be satisfied with this statement from School Board President Sheri Noyes:Dr. VanderWey was officially placed on paid administrative leave on Friday, January 21st, 2022, per the recommendation of the District\u2019s attorney while the details and negotiations of her separation and payout were being finalized. The board implemented Section 10 of Dr. VanderWey\u2019s contract, Suspension of the Superintendent. Dr. VanderWey was given her notice, in writing, effective January 21st, 2022, stating the reasons why she was placed on paid administrative leave. There was no need to call for a formal meeting, therefore there are no minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roane\u2019s second request on Feb. 9:<\/strong>\u201c1. Copy of the written notice the Board of Education served upon former Superintendent VanderWey informing her of her placement upon administrative leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

District response:<\/strong>The letter was attached.<\/p>\n

Roane\u2019s third request on Feb. 14: <\/strong>\u201c1. Dr. Risha VanderWey\u2019s employment contract with the school district\/board of education.2. Any separation\/payout agreement the school district\/ board of education entered into with Dr. Risha VanderWey.3. A copy of the recording of the executive session held by the Board of Education on February 8, 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n

District response:<\/strong>The employment contract and separation agreement were attached, and the district said the executive session was \u201cnot required for public viewing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roane\u2019s fourth request on Feb. 16:<\/strong>\u201c1. Copy of recording, agenda, and minutes for meeting where Board of Education decided to terminate Dr. VanderWey\u2019s employment as superintendent.\u201d<\/p>\n

District response:<\/strong>\u201cThere was no meeting held to terminate Dr. VanderWey; she resigned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roane\u2019s fifth request on Feb. 17: <\/strong>\u201c1. Copy of recording, agenda, and minutes for meeting where Board of Education decided to enter into contract entitled \u201dSeparation Agreement\u201d with Dr. Risha VanderWey.<\/p>\n

District response:<\/strong>\u201cThe separation agreement hasn\u2019t been held at a meeting. Feb. 11th there was a board meeting to accept the Resignation. Those minutes get approved tonight + will be on our website tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Roane was told the district did not record the executive session \u201cinadvertently and unintentionally\u201d in a response to his CORA request. Under Colorado Open Meetings Law, governing bodies must record executive sessions, excluding any portion that involves privileged attorney-client information.<\/p>\n

To exercise their right not to record, boards must announce they are receiving legal advice on specific legal questions from their attorney, who must be present, said Steven Zansberg, First Amendment and media lawyer and president of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the board\u2019s obligation to make sure it\u2019s recorded,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The minutes of the Jan. 18 executive session do not list an attorney as a participant. Only the board directors \u2013 and VanderWey, for a portion of the meeting \u2013 were present.<\/p>\n

A \u201cpersonnel matter\u201d does not warrant attorney-client privilege, Roane said, especially given that VanderWey took part in the meeting.<\/p>\n

Colorado law prohibits public bodies from making decisions during an executive session. The public has the right to inspect executive session recordings with the consent of the governing body or a judge\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n

Roane decided to investigate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just an onion; the more I peeled back the layers, the more it smelled,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In his formal complaint, Roane argues that the board took formal action by placing VanderWey on paid leave and by later executing a separation agreement with her without public notice.<\/p>\n

Roane requested public notices of the meeting in which the decision was made to place VanderWey on leave and of the meeting in which the board signed the separation agreement.<\/p>\n

In a statement to Roane, Noyes said there was \u201cno need to call for a formal meeting\u201d to place VanderWey on paid administrative leave.<\/p>\n

Roane then requested the written notice from the board informing VanderWey of her administrative leave.<\/p>\n

That letter, signed by Noyes, informed VanderWey it was in the \u201cdistrict\u2019s best interest\u201d to place her on administrative leave while the details of her separation and payout were being finalized.<\/p>\n

The district did not provide that letter to The Journal,<\/em> which requested all the board\u2019s electronic and written communications in January that discussed VanderWey.<\/p>\n