A lawsuit brought by Paul Lehmann, of rural Fayette, against the Fayette R-III Board of Education that claimed the district’s four-day school week is unconstitutional was dismissed with prejudice by Circuit 14 Presiding Judge Scott Hayes on Thursday, March 11. The suit was brought against the school board on October 2, 2020, in an attempt to force the school district to return to a five-day school week.

Judge Hayes stated in his ruling that Lehmann’s allegations, conclusions, speculation, conjecture, and opinions are not facts. He also wrote that Lehmann has no standing to sue.

“In order for (Lehmann) to have standing to sue in the capacity he has chosen, he needs to allege that he is an employee of the District, that he has children attending schools of the District, that he will or could suffer damages as a result of the alleged wrongs, or some legal interest of the subject matter of the petition,” Judge Hayes wrote.

The Fayette school board voted 4-2 on November 20, 2019, to transition the district to a four-day school week. The controversial decision came before a capacity crowd. A group opposing the four-day week spoke at the meeting and presented the board with a petition of nearly 300 signatures. The petition was largely ignored.

Proponents on the board at the time said the change was necessary to better attract teachers. The district had for two years been unable to fill a position for a high school math teacher. Within 24 hours of the vote, two teachers had applied and the position was filled.

In January of 2020, Lehmann led the meeting of a group calling itself “People for the 5 Day School Week,” during which time he threatened to take the school to court over the matter. A number of people in attendance spoke out against the four-day school week, but few solutions were proposed. At one point, Lehmann said his intent was not to change the mind of the board but to force the board to reverse its decision.

“The School District moved to dismiss Mr. Lehmann’s claims and the Court agreed,” said Fayette Superintendent Jill Wiseman. “Mr. Lehmann may disagree with the Board of Education’s ultimate decision to adopt the four-day school week calendar, but the District and Board of Education followed Missouri statutes and guidance from DESE in reaching its decision.”

Missouri law allows for school districts to operate a four-day schedule. In 2018, the state made a change to a law that governs the length of academic years for public schools. Instead of requiring districts to operate 174 days and 1,044 hours each year, the new law eliminated the required number of days. Schools now must only operate for a minimum of 1,044 hours each year. Currently, 105 school districts in Missouri have adopted the four-day school week, with six more slated to transition in the fall. Nearby districts of Higbee and Harrisburg have operated on a four-day schedule for several years.

“As demonstrated by the Court’s Order and Judgment, the District acted in accordance with the law,” Wiseman said.

The district was represented by Jeffrey Andrew Marriott, of Kansas City. Supt. Wiseman said that the district’s insurance covered all but $1,000 of the legal expense. Lehmann represented himself in court.