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ELECTRONICALLY FILED
3/17/2015 1:02 PM
01-CV-2015-901091.00
CIRCUIT COURT OF
JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA
ANNE-MARIE ADAMS, CLERK

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE
CITY OF GARDENDALE,
Plaintiff,
v.
THE JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD
OF EDUCATION, THE STATE OF
ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION, DEAN TAYLOR, JR.,
individually and as a member of the
Jefferson County Board of Education,
JENNIFER H. PARSONS, individually
and as a member of the Jefferson County
Board of Education, JACQUELINE A.
SMITH, individually and as a member of
the Jefferson County Board of Education,
OSCAR S. MANN, individually and as a
member of the Jefferson County Board of
Education, MARTHA V.J. BOUYER,
individually and as a member of the
Jefferson County Board of Education,
WARREN CRAIG POUNCEY,
individually and as Superintendent of the
Jefferson County School District, and
THOMAS R. BICE, individually and as
Superintendent of the State Department
of Education,
Defendants.

CV-2015-________

PETITION FOR A WRIT OF MANDAMUS, OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, FOR A

COMMON-LAW WRIT OF CERTIORARI, OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE,
COMPLAINT FOR EQUITABLE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF

Plaintiff The City of Gardendale Board of Education complains of Defendants and

demands the equitable and declaratory relief set forth below, reserving its right to amend these
averments as may become necessary.

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PARTIES AND JURISDICTION

1.

Plaintiff is a municipal board of education organized under the provisions of

Chapter 11, Title 16 of the Code of Alabama for the general administration and supervision of
the public schools and educational interests of the City of Gardendale.
2.

Defendant the Jefferson County Board of Education is a county school board

organized under Alabama law for the general administration of the public schools in Jefferson
County except those schools under the control of a city school board.
3.

Defendant Dean Taylor, Jr. is an individual resident of Jefferson County,

Alabama and a member of the Jefferson County Board of Education.

4.

Defendant Jennifer Parsons is an individual resident of Jefferson County,

Alabama and a member of the Jefferson County Board of Education.

5.

Defendant Jacqueline Smith is an individual resident of Jefferson County,

Alabama and a member of the Jefferson County Board of Education.

6.

Defendant Oscar Mann is an individual resident of Jefferson County, Alabama

and a member of the Jefferson County Board of Education.

7.

Defendant Martha V.J. Bouyer is an individual resident of Jefferson County,

Alabama and a member of the Jefferson County Board of Education.

8.

Defendant Warren Craig Pouncey is an individual resident of Crenshaw County,

Alabama and is the superintendent of the Jefferson County School District.

9.

Defendants the Jefferson County Board of Education, Taylor, Parsons, Smith,

Mann, Bouyer, and Pouncey are at times referred to collectively hereinafter as the County
School Board Defendants.

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10.

Defendant the State of Alabama Department of Education is a state agency

formed to administer and discharge the duties imposed under Alabama law for the administration
of school boards and education resources throughout the state.
11.

Defendant Thomas R. Bice is an individual resident of Montgomery County,

Alabama and is the superintendent of the State of Alabama Department of Education.

12.

All individual defendants named herein are sued in their official and individual

capacities.
13.

This Court has general jurisdiction over claims for equitable and declaratory relief

and exercises jurisdiction over petitions for common-law writs of certiorari or mandamus
directed toward public officials.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
14.

The City of Gardendale caused to be formed the City of Gardendale Board of

Education (hereinafter, Plaintiff or the School Board) in 2014 and levied a 10-mill school
ad valorem tax to fund and support the School Boards contemplated administration of the public
schools within the City of Gardendale, for the benefit of the approximately 2,300 students who
live within Gardendales corporate limits, as well as an estimated 750 students who live in
nearby unincorporated communities.
15.

The City of Gardendales population, as of the 2010 federal census, was

approximately 14,000. It is the desire of a majority of the citizens of Gardendale, for the benefit
of the students within the district, that its own school board assume control of the public schools
within the district for the 2015-2016 school year.
16.

To that end, the School Board intends to begin its administration of the public

schools within its district on July 1, 2015.

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17.

Before the School Board was formed, the public schools located within and near

Gardendale had been under the control of the Jefferson County Board of Education (hereinafter,
the County School Board).
18.

Included within those schools was the Gardendale High School, built in 2010 with

fundingmore than $300,000,000that the County School Board received from the Jefferson
County Commission.

The County School Board thus did not incur debt or any financial

obligation to construct the Gardendale High School.

19.

In 2014, after the City of Gardendale caused Plaintiff to be formed, Plaintiff

approached the County School Board to discuss how to accomplish the transition of control over
Gardendale schools to Plaintiff, as required under Ala. Code 16-13-199 and other statutes.
20.

In a dramatic break with prior practice, however, the County School Board

declined to negotiate with Plaintiff in good faith, flatly refusing to consider Plaintiffs request
that the County School Board, per its statutory duty under Ala. Code 16-13-199 and other
statutes, relinquish control of the school facilitiesnamely, Gardendale Elementary School,
Snow Rogers Elementary School, Bragg Middle School, and Gardendale High School, all of
which are located within the city limits of Gardendaleto Plaintiff.
21.

Accordingly, in November 2014, Plaintiff and the County School Board requested

Superintendent Bice, as the superintendent of the State Department of Education, to resolve

unreconciled critical issues.
22.

Superintendent Bices initial response, in his preliminary decision dated February

6, 2015, purported to place a monetary value on the debt-free Gardendale High School and to
require the School Board to pay an unprecedented Exit Fee of $8.1 million. This was a
departure from the established practice for public-school separations in Alabama, including those

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municipalities in Jefferson County that have established city school boards since 2003 and have
assumed control of their schools from the County School Board.
23.

The School Board timely responded to Superintendent Bices decision, pointing

out the City of Gardendales right under Alabama law to form its own school district and board
of education, the School Boards right to control the schools within its municipal school district,
the County School Boards lack of indebtedness for Gardendale High School, and the
unprecedented nature and fundamental inequity of Superintendent Bices preliminary decision.
24.

In his final decision of February 26, 2015 (the Final Order), Superintendent

Bice properly held that the School Board may move forward with its separation from the County
School Board and that no payment to the County School Board would be required at this time.
25.

The Final Order also adopted as binding on Defendants the School Boards 13-

year Open Door Attendance Policy, as submitted, beginning with the upcoming 2015-2016
school year.
26.

The Final Orders adoption of the Open Door Attendance Policy ensures that

students currently attending Gardendale schools will be able to remain there through their
graduation, even if they reside outside of Gardendale city limits. This ensures continuity of
educational services for all students.
27.

The Final Order also adopted as binding Plaintiffs proposal that students

attending the William E. Burkett Multi-Handicapped Center and who reside in the community of
Gardendale be entitled to remain at that facility unless a different arrangement is negotiated
between the boards, or as otherwise directed by Superintendent Bice.
28.

The Final Order also denied Plaintiffs request for payment of the JulySeptember

employee payroll from the 2014-2015 Foundation Program. This is contrary to the actions taken

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in other recent separation agreements. Due to the fact that the County School Board will not
have expenditures for payroll and has received the revenue from the state from the 2014-2015
Foundation Program, this will result in a financial windfall for the County School Board.
29.

The Final Order makes clear that its resolutions are immediate and are

necessary to complete planning for the 2015-2016 school year.

30.

These items were decided by the Final Order and are binding on Defendants, but

certain matters were left to the school boards to work together to finalize details leading to
Plaintiffs assumption of control over Gardendale schools in a separation agreement.
31.

However, rather than negotiate with Plaintiff in good faith on those details as

Superintendent Bice instructed, the County School Board has refused to view the Final Order as
authoritative or final and has refused to move forward with handing over control of Gardendale
schools.
32.

Plaintiff brings this action to seek relief from the legal errors and arbitrary and

capricious actions of the Defendants.

COUNT ONE
Petition for a Common-Law Writ of Mandamus
33.

Plaintiff adopts and incorporates here all foregoing allegations.

34.

Plaintiff has the statutory right to administer the public schools within its school

district, absent an agreement with the County School Board to allow those schools to remain
under the control of the County School Board.
35.

No such agreement exists between Plaintiff and the County School Board.

36.

In the absence of such an agreement, the County School Board Defendants have a

legal duty to allow Plaintiff to assume control of the public schools within the city limits of
Gardendale.

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37.

Alabama law affords the County School Board Defendants no discretion in this

respect; their duty is simply to perform the ministerial act of transferring control of the schools,
held in the public trust, to Plaintiff.
38.

The County School Board Defendants and Defendant Pouncey have breached

their statutory duty to allow Plaintiff to administer the public schools within its district, despite
Plaintiffs request that they do so.
39.

Plaintiff has a clear legal right to a common-law writ of mandamus directing the

County School Board Defendants and Defendant Pouncey to relinquish control of the public
schools within the Gardendale school district to Plaintiff.
40.

Plaintiff therefore prays that this Court issue such a writ and order that

Defendants perform the ministerial act of ceding administration of the schools at issue to
Plaintiff as directed by the Final Order.
COUNT TWO
Injunctive Relief
41.

Plaintiff adopts and incorporates here all foregoing allegations.

42.

In the alternative to the above counts, Plaintiff seeks a permanent injunction

directing Defendants to recognize Plaintiffs statutory rights.

43.

Plaintiff has demonstrated above its likelihood of success on the merits of its

claim that Defendants have erred in refusing to recognize Plaintiffs statutory right to control the
schools in its district.
44.

Further, Plaintiff faces irreparable harm if Defendants are not ordered to

recognize Plaintiffs statutory right to control its public schools, because the 2015-2016 school
year is fast approaching and Plaintiff will be prevented from fulfilling its legal dutyindeed, its

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reason for existenceto administer Gardendale public schools for the good of its students if
those schools are not placed under Plaintiffs administration.
45.

As outlined above, the Final Order properly requires the County School Board to

hand over control of Gardendale schools by July 1, 2015.

46.

The Final Order does not expressly state that the County School Board

Defendants must immediately grant Plaintiff access to the facilities and employees of the
Gardendale schools to allow Plaintiff to engage in the planning and preparations that are
necessary for Plaintiff to be able to take control of the schools for the 2015-2016 school year.
47.

It is clear, however, that the Final Order was intended to allow for this necessary

planning to occur immediately so that Plaintiff will be ready to fulfill its duties to the students of
Gardendale for the 2015-2016 school year. The Order itself indicates that it includes resolutions
necessary to complete planning for the 2015-2016 school year. However, the County School
Board Defendants refuse to negotiate matters related to such planning and jeopardize the
Plaintiffs ability to operate its school system.
48.

Immediate access to the facilities and employees is part of the planning Plaintiff

must undertake to fulfill its duties to its students.

49.

It is therefore necessary that the County School Board Defendants be enjoined to

immediately allow Plaintiff such access to enable Plaintiff to be in a position to fulfill its duties
to the students of Gardendale schools by July 1, 2015.
50.

No amount of money damages could make Plaintiff whole if it is not allowed this

access for necessary planning. Plaintiff thus has no adequate remedy at law.
51.

Moreover, Defendants cannot establish any hardship by reason of the injunctive

relief Plaintiff seeks here because Defendants are already under a legal duty to yield control of

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the Gardendale public schools to the School Board and so cannot be heard to complain of any
hardship occasioned by their refusal to follow the law. Further, the County School Board will
not be left with any indebtedness attaching to the Gardendale public schools for which it would
remain responsible after control is passed to Plaintiff.
52.

Plaintiff is entitled to and demands equitable relief in the form of a permanent

injunction that will: (1) require Defendants to recognize Plaintiffs legal right to administer the
public schools within the city of Gardendale school district; (2) order that those schools and all
their associated real and personal property and assets be turned over to Plaintiffs control by July
1, 2015; (3) grant Plaintiff immediate access to the facilities and personnel so that Plaintiff may
begin planning for the 2015-2016 school year; and (4) enjoin Defendants from further
interference or obstruction to Plaintiff exercising its statutory rights and fulfilling its legal duties
to the students attending Gardendale public schools.
COUNT THREE
Declaratory Judgment
53.

Plaintiff adopts and incorporates here all foregoing allegations.

54.

In the alternative to the foregoing forms of relief, Plaintiff requests that this Court

declare that Superintendent Bices Final Order of February 26, 2015 was indeed a final order
within the meaning of Ala. Code 16-4-8 and Ala. Admin. Code 290-1-2-.05.
55.

The County School Board has refused to acknowledge the Final Order as the

binding decision of Superintendent Bice as to the disposition of Gardendales schools and the
School Boards authority over them.
56.

The County School Board Defendants err because the Final Order was issued as

the culmination of the process mandated in Ala. Admin. Code 290-1-2-.05.

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57.

The Final Order is, furthermore, demonstrably intended to be understood and

applied as a binding, final decision, as it is titled Final Decision on the Joint Petition for
Adjudication of Disputed Separation Issues submitted by Plaintiff and the County School Board.
58.

It is therefore manifest, by the plain language of the Final Order and the

procedures of Alabama law under which it was issued, that the Final Order is the binding
decision of Superintendent Bice and that it is incumbent on the County School Board Defendants
to cede control of Gardendale schools to Plaintiff and to negotiate the details of the separation of
the Gardendale schools from the County system in good faith, as the Final Order requires.
59.

Plaintiff requests that this Court enter a judgment declaring the Final Order as

final within the meaning of Alabama law and therefore binding on the County School Board
Defendants, including specifically the Final Orders resolution that no fee will be required from
Plaintiff and that Plaintiffs Open Door Attendance Policy has been adopted by Superintendent
Bice and is binding on Defendants.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

Plaintiff prays this Court to issue a writ of mandamus directing the County School Board
and its members to relinquish control of the public schools within Plaintiffs school district to
Plaintiff immediately.
Alternatively, Plaintiff requests that this Court enter a permanent injunction that grants
the relief requested above.
Alternatively, Plaintiff asks this Court to enter a judgment declaring that the Final Order
is binding on the County School Board Defendants.

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Respectfully submitted on this 17th day of March 2015.

/s/ Giles G. Perkins
Giles G. Perkins
Mark L. Gaines
Aaron G. McLeod
Russell J. Rutherford
Counsel for The City of Gardendale Board
of Education
OF COUNSEL:
ADAMS and REESE LLP
1901 Sixth Avenue North, Suite 3000
Birmingham, AL 35203-3367
Telephone: 205-250-5000
Fax: 205-250-5034
giles.perkins@arlaw.com
mark.gaines.arlaw.com
aaron.mcleod@arlaw.com
russell.rutherford@arlaw.com

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that I caused to be served by certified mail, return receipt requested, a
complete copy of this Complaint and a summons on the following Defendants:
The Jefferson County Board of Education
2100 18th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35209
Dean Taylor, Jr.
2100 18th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35209
Jennifer H. Parsons
2100 18th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35209
Jacqueline A. Smith
2100 18th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35209
Oscar S. Mann
2100 18th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35209
Martha V.J. Bouyer
2100 18th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35209
Superintendent Warren Craig Pouncey
2100 18th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35209
The State of Alabama Department of Education
5114 Gordon Persons Building
50 North Ripley Street
Montgomery, AL 36104-2101
Superintendent Thomas R. Bice
5114 Gordon Persons Building
50 North Ripley Street
Montgomery, AL 36104-2101
/s/ Giles G. Perkins
OF COUNSEL

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