‘Elections matter.’ Judge turns down injunction request from old KY Board of Education.

U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove on Thursday ruled against seven former members asking for an emergency injunction that would stop the work of the new Kentucky Board of Education appointed by Gov. Andy Beshear. The injunction would have restored the former board members to the Kentucky Board of Education.

The Supreme Court of Kentucky had held that the Governor’s power includes the abolition of an administrative body,’ meaning that members of the specific board that the Governor has abolished may be removed from their positions. In August 2019, the Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously upheld former Gov. Matt Bevin’s reorganization of several boards that oversee public education in the state.

Van Tatenhove said Beshear’s actions are not contrary to federal law and that the former board members were unlikely to succeed on the merits of the case, so he was denying the preliminary injunction.

“Elections matter,” Van Tatenhove said in his ruling. “When Governor Beshear was running for governor he announced that he intended to abolish the state board of education and create a new board with new members. After he was elected, he did just that.”

“To the board members removed, this seems unfair. After all, many had time left on their four year appointments and no doubt a desire to continue to serve,” the judge said in the ruling. He said the former state board members asking for an immediate stop to what they believe is a terrible idea may be right, “but the relief they seek is not actionable in this forum.”

Steven J. Megerle, the Covington attorney representing the former state board of education members, said he was not disappointed with the ruling.

“Just because you lose a preliminary injunction does not mean that your case has no merit,” Megerle said.

There is also a pending request in federal court to dismiss the former state board members’ lawsuit against Beshear.

Beshear on Thursday said the first paragraph of the judge’s ruling “very succinctly talks about the fact that this reorganization was the will of the people, we should not be trying to undo an election and that this state board of education is one of the most qualified we’ve ever seen.”

“It’s going to do a great job and it should continue,” Beshear said.

During his gubernatorial campaign against Bevin, Beshear, a Democrat said he would replace the board members appointed by Bevin, a Republican, with people who he said supported public education and with board members who would hire a state commissioner of education in favor of public education. On his inauguration day, Beshear replaced the state school board members appointed by Bevin with his own appointees and Commisioner Wayne Lewis later resigned. Public school educators voiced concerns that Lewis and former state school board members were proponents of charter schools, which critics say siphon funds from traditional public schools.

Republican Senate President Robert Stivers has filed legislation to undo Beshear’s remake of the Kentucky Board of Education. It is pending in the current session of the General Assembly.

Herald-Leader political reporter Daniel Desrochers contributed to this article.

This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 4:36 PM.