YOUNGSTOWN — A Lowellville couple that sued the Lowellville Board of Education for an Ohio Open Meetings Act violation has appealed the Oct. 29 decision in the case from Judge R. Scott Krichbaum.

Christopher and Gina Crilley gave notice last week that they are appealing the decision to the 7th District Court of Appeals.

The filing, by attorney Robert T. McDowall, indicated the “probable issues” the Crilleys would raise in the appeal would be open meetings act compliance and attorney fees.

The Crilleys filed the suit in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court regarding an Aug. 10, 2020, special meeting of the school board, at which the board voted to switch to remote-only learning for the first nine weeks of the school year.

The Crilleys argued that the board of education violated the act by not properly notifying the public of the purpose of the meeting.

Judge R. Scott Krichbaum and his magistrate, Tim Welsh, agreed that the board violated the open meetings act after hearing testimony from Lowellville Treasurer Bryan Schiraldi and others.

Schiraldi testified that the board’s practice was to post the agenda of special meetings at least 48 hours in advance on the school’s website and notify the newspaper, adding: “It is then incumbent upon the newspaper to consult the district’s website to determine the ‘purpose’ of the special meeting.” The notice The Vindicator received did not contain the reason for the meeting.

The court found that the board violated the act by not notifying the news media of the purpose of the Aug. 10, 2020, meeting.

The ruling stated, however, that the court was not going to void the actions of the board in approving a remote-only learning plan at the Aug. 10, 2020, meeting — because the vote was not necessary and had no effect.

Instead, Lowellville Superintendent Eugene Thomas had “unfettered discretion to adopt a remote learning plan without any board approval whatsoever,” the ruling states.

“Equity will not permit a court to do a vain and useless thing,” the court ruled.

The ruling ordered the school district to pay $500 to the Crilleys as damages, but the ruling denied a request for the school board to pay the Crilleys’ legal fees.

erunyan@tribtoday.com