Federal jury rules against D-49: Speech rights violated in school board crackdown
By Eric Young | Denver Gazette
The public conflict that escalated into a legal challenge between current and former board members of School District 49 reached a verdict on Thursday, which found that its board president had violated constitutional rights during a public meeting.
Deb Schmidt and Kelly Kohls filed a federal lawsuit against the school district shortly after they were removed from a February 2023 board meeting for holding up signs calling for the resignations of three sitting Board of Education members.
Then-board President John Graham paused the meeting to tell the two that they violated decorum and gave them the option to either put their signs down or leave, otherwise police would be called.
When they refused, Graham again halted the meeting to go into...