A week after the Santa Barbara Libertarian Party levied a
lawsuit against the Santa Barbara School District for possible
Brown Act violations, the dispute was settled out of court Monday
night. While the school board admitted no wrongdoing, it paid the
Libertarian Party a lump sum of $5,000 and promised to tape-record
all future closed-door meetings after the party made preliminary
moves toward legal action. The problem arose late last month when
boardmember Bob Noel publicly suggested the board may have
improperly discussed budget cuts and related program terminations
in closed-door sessions. Bad blood continues to boil among
boardmembers, many of whom feel betrayed and wrongly accused by
Noel. Also this week, the board identified a list of possible
program cuts for next year, including junior high electives, school
nurses, after-school sports, and several teaching positions at La
Cumbre Junior High.
