Treasurer sues Dayton school board over ouster

Recently ousted Dayton Public Schools Treasurer Craig Jones has sued Dayton’s school board, arguing that he was improperly removed from that position.

The school board voted to non-renew the contracts of Jones and then-superintendent Lori Ward at a special board meeting on Feb. 23.

But Jones’ lawsuit says that Feb. 23 meeting was not a legally valid meeting, because the notice calling for a special meeting was not signed by appropriate members of the board, as called for in state law and DPS policy.

His lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, includes a copy of that meeting notice, bearing no signature.

Jones claims that under Ohio law, if the meeting was improperly called, it was an unlawful meeting, so any action taken at that meeting would be rescinded, meaning the non-renewal vote never happened.

If a court determines DPS did not properly serve notice of its intent to oust Jones by March 1, under Ohio law, he would be “deemed re-employed for a term of one year at the same salary.” Jones’ base salary last year was $132,000.

Dayton school board President Adil Baguirov said Friday that the board “followed the letter of the law when it decided to non-renew Mr. Jones.”

“No one among administrators is ‘entitled’ to anything at DPS,” Baguirov said. “That might have been the old mentality, but no more. The only entitled are those receiving education — the students at DPS. No one else.”

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