FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- A federal judge denied Thursday a request by former members of the Kentucky Board of Education for an injunction that would have restored them to the board as the case winds through court.
"Elections matter because they allow the elected to make governing choice – choices that have policy and personal consequences," U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove wrote, adding that Gov. Andy Beshear's move to reorganize the board "are not contrary to federal law" and that the former board members "are unlikely to succeed on the merits of this case."
"That can be disappointing for those who desire to serve or who believe in a particular policy. But, absent a finding of a federal constitution or statutory violation, the remedy does not rest in the hands of a federal judge. The remedy is found at the ballot box."
Van Tatenhove did not rule on separate motions for dismissals filed by Beshear, Attorney General Daniel Cameron and the Kentucky Department of Education.
Seven former members of the Kentucky Board of Education and the Bluegrass Institute sued Beshear after his decision to completely revamp the board on his first day in office. A similar case in state court involving more former board members was withdrawn.
While they have argued that their removals violate law because they were not removed for cause and not given any due process, Beshear has relied on a Kentucky Supreme Court ruling that found governors can reorganize various education boards as affirmation of his authority to do so.
Van Tatenhove found that the former board members are more akin to public officials rather than public employees and do not hold property rights to their positions on the education board.
The federal judge also found that the plaintiffs' constitutional arguments in favor of their case mirror those made by Beshear in his losing effort as attorney general when he challenged former Gov. Matt Bevin's reorganization of various education-related boards.
"While the Supreme Court recognized that '[t]here may be a point' at which a Governor’s particular use of the statute violates the [state] Constitution, the statute itself is not facially invalid, which is exactly the same issue Plaintiffs are asking this Court to decide," Van Tatenhove wrote.
"As there is not a strong likelihood of success on the merits, this Court cannot make the assumption that Plaintiffs and other members of the public would be better served by ultimately (stopping) further action by the current Board members," he added. "The former Board members might think so; but the current members surely would not."
Beshear told reporters Thursday that Van Tatenhove's ruling demonstrates that his reorganization is "the will of the people."
"We should not be trying to undo an election," he said. "... This state board of education is one of the most qualified that we have seen. It's going to do a great job, and it should continue."
Steve Megerle, a Covington-based attorney for the former board members and the Bluegrass Institute, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Kevin Brown, interim education commissioner, called Van Tatenhove's ruling "a well-reasoned decision."
"This ruling helps secure stability in the governance of the K-12 system which is particularly critical while the board searches for a new commissioner of education for the Commonwealth," he said in a statement. "We look forward to continuing to work with our state board members to advance Kentucky’s education system."
The Kentucky Board of Education is the focus of an effort by Senate President Robert Stivers to explicitly remove it from gubernatorial reorganization authority. The legislation, Senate Bill 10, would also require representation by political registration based on statewide numbers.
This is the second time that an injunction request from the former Kentucky Board of Education members has been denied in court.
Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate ruled against 10 of the former board members in the aftermath of Beshear's reorganization, an opinion that was upheld by the Kentucky Court of Appeals and Kentucky Supreme Court.
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