County Council member Tracey Perry (District 5, Festus) has a little extra time on her hands.
She has been forced off the Jefferson R-7 School District Board of Education – for the moment, anyway.
The Missouri Attorney General’s of¬fice on July 24 issued a preliminary order blocking Perry from “engaging in any activity, or exercising any authority, as a school board member for the Jefferson R-7 School District, subject to further order of this Court.”
Perry did not attend the R-7 school board’s regular monthly meeting that evening.
The Attorney General’s Office filed a quo warranto petition July 10 in Jefferson County Circuit Court, essentially asking a judge to decide whether Perry should be forced to give up her school board seat because it conflicts with her role as a member of the Jefferson County Council.
She was elected to the school board in April 2017 and to the county council in November 2018.
The case was assigned to a special judge, Gael Wood, who retired in 2017 after 17 years as a circuit court judge in Franklin County. Wood issued the July 24 order, which gives Perry 10 days to respond. After that, a final determination about her status as a school board member will be made.
Perry wouldn’t say much about the case following the order.
“I love this community, and I do want what’s best for it,” she said. “I just don’t think it’s appropriate to comment right now, with the ongoing litigation.”
In its petition, the Attorney General’s Office cites several areas where the two positions Perry holds might be in conflict:
■ The County Council’s authority over planning and zoning cases that may affect the school district
■ The council’s budgetary oversight of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, which assigns school resource officers to the school district
■ The possibility that the County Council may have to appoint members of the school board when multiple vacan¬cies occur
■ The school district’s employment of social workers through Comtrea, which provides funding for the mental health provider.
“Despite efforts by (the Attorney General’s) office to point out to (Perry) the incompatible nature of her two elec¬tive positions, (Perry) has declined to resign, in fact, from her position on the school board,” the petition states.
The case against Perry was triggered after a group called Concerned Citizens of R-7 lodged a formal complaint with the Attorney General’s Office in May.
Hillsboro-area resident Rick Harvey has filed a similar complaint against Coun¬cilman Jim Terry (District 7, Cedar Hill), who also serves on the Big River Ambu¬lance District Board of Directors and the Jefferson County Extension Council.
On July 19, Terry said he had sent a response concerning the various offices he holds to the Attorney General’s Office.