CENTERVILLE — A district judge delayed the release of audio and transcripts of what he deemed an illegally held closed session by the Centerville Community School District Board of Education to allow the district to decide whether to appeal the finding.

District Judge Mark Kruse agreed to the settlement that both the Iowa Freedom of Information Council and school district attorneys wait for the exhibits to be unsealed by Oct. 31, the last day on which the school district can timely object to the release of both meeting minutes and minutes. Audio recording of the meeting regarding the resignation of former guidance counselor Ryan Hodges. If the district objects, the release of exhibits will be further delayed until the appeal process is completed.

“Unsealing the exhibits before the start of the appeal period would weaken the grounds for appealing the decision, which would be unfair (to the region) and would partially invalidate the appeals court’s review,” Kruse wrote in a decision submitted Friday morning. he wrote.

The Centerville school board met on February 2, 2023, and it was later determined that the Open Meetings Act, or Chapter 21 of the Iowa Code, had been violated. IFOIC sued the school district for violating the law, and Kruse ruled in favor of the nonprofit in June.

The Ottumwa Courier is a funding member of the IFOIC, and its general manager and editor, Kyle Ocker, serves on the nonprofit organization’s board of trustees.

The stated reason for the closed session was to allow the board to review Hodges’ professional qualifications. IFOIC said this was clear in the meeting records and minutes, but it was not discussed in closed session and the judge agreed. After about 30 minutes of closed session, the board moved to approve a resignation agreement with Hodges.

Hodges allegedly groomed a female student, which led to an investigation that ultimately led to a settlement between the student, the school district, and Indian Hills Community College. The student said the university engaged in a “targeted campaign of harassment and bullying,” according to court documents.

Hodges eventually agreed to surrender his teaching license but continued to deny the allegations.

The district also criticized the plaintiffs over the court fees issue, claiming the plaintiffs filed seven motions and prevailed on only one, an open meetings violation. The plaintiff’s attorneys are seeking $186,960 in fees, plus an additional $1,858.30 in expenses, according to court documents. District attorneys believed the fees should be half that amount, given the failure of multiple motions.

Kruse has not yet ruled on awarding attorney fees.

The school district has until Oct. 31 to appeal Kruse’s original decision, which found the district violated the law. If this deadline is met without objection, both the audio and transcript of the closed session will be unsealed and become a public record.