ST. CHARLES COUNTY: A judge ruled last week that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s lawsuit against the Wentzville Board of Education for discussing trans rooms in closed session will remain.
The lawsuit is just one small battle in the recent culture wars that have engulfed the nation and the state.
Two discussions the board held in June and July of last year are at the center of the case. Members of both sessions met in private sessions away from the general public to talk with their attorney, Patrick Brazill, about the situation.
Jennifer Olson and Renee Henke, two board members, filed documents with the attorney general’s office expressing their opinion that some of the meetings ought to have been open. David Lewis, a fourth board member, added that he had submitted an affidavit, but his was not part of the lawsuit.
The board members discussed creating a legal policy regarding transgender individuals using restrooms and locker rooms in both meetings, which took place in secret for 10 to 15 minutes.
The board argued in November that the case should be dismissed because it didn’t vote or take any other action during the two closed sessions, and that it was appropriate to adjourn the meetings because the board and its attorney discussed legal issues related to the matter.
Judge Deborah J. Alessi of the St. Charles Circuit Court decided on Thursday that the state’s case had the necessary components to move forward.
