Judge upholds Huntsville teachers’ dismissals

Published 1:13 pm Thursday, July 10, 2008

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A Madison County judge has ruled that the Huntsville school board didn’t intentionally violate the Alabama Open Meetings Act when the board fired two school employees.

Circuit Court Judge James Smith’s ruling means the board’s decision stands to fire Leldon Speer, former football coach at Columbia High School, and Leilani Kesner, former assistant principal at Lee High School.

Attorneys for Speer and Kesner said the board broke the open meetings law by not providing an agenda for the meeting.

The meeting was held in a back room off the floor of the Von Braun Center before a graduation ceremony for Johnson High School. The attorneys said the VBC covers about 170,000 square feet and an exact location for the meeting should have been given.