9/22 -- South Park Hearing Wraps Up

Reported by: News Staff
Tuesday, Sep 22, 2009 @12:03pm

A hearing to decide the fate of South Park school ended Tuesday morning.

Judge Bob Wortham will review the testimony given Monday and Tuesday, before making a decision.

No word yet on when that decision will come.

Judge Wortham granted a temporary injunction earlier this summer. He said voters were led to believe that South Park would be saved even if voters passed the 2007 bond proposal.

Wortham cited a pamphlet published by the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce that stated South Park would be saved.

Monday, former school district communications director Jolene Ortego testified that she provided that information to the chamber.

She said she got it from superintendent, Dr. Carrol Thomas.

School board attorney Melody Chappell has argued that only the board members can legally bind the district.

She also says that the appeals court didn't uphold Wortham's decision based on his argument that voters were misled.

The appeals court ruling says that the district couldn't tear South Park down, because it had not placed the item on the agenda.


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