Just a week after filing a lawsuit against the city of Springfield for its face mask ordinance, a former councilwoman is now suing the Springfield R-12 School District.
Kristi Fulnecky says the suit, filed in Greene County Circuit Court, names the school board and individual board members, as well as Superintendent John Jungmann.
The suit is filed on behalf of Fulnecky’s clients, Kristina Borishkevich, Erica Sweeney, and Stoney McCleery.
It petitions the court for a temporary and permanent injunctive relief against the district’s student re-entry plan.
The complaint requests the district allow families the option of having kids attend in-person classes five days a week based on grounds the current plan violates constitutionally and federally protected rights.
Fulnecky, who made the announcement Friday on Mornings with Nick Reed on Springfield’s Talk 104-1, is holding a press conference at noon Friday outside the SPS Kraft Administration Building.
The following is a press release sent on behalf of Fulnecky:
(Springfield, MO) – A lawsuit has been filed with the Greene County Circuit Court against Springfield
Public Schools’ (SPS)Board of Education; SPS Superintendent, John Jungmann; and SPS Board Members:
Aline Lehnert, Denise Fredrick, Gerry Lee, Jill Patterson, Bruce Renner, Charles Taylor, and Shurita
Thomas-Tate.
Kristi Fulnecky on behalf of her clients, Kristina Borishkevich, Erica Sweeney, and Stoney
McCleery, is petitioning the court for a temporary and permanent injunctive relief against the school’s
re-entry plan.
The complaint requests that Springfield Public Schools allow families the choice to attend school inperson five days a week based on the grounds that the current plan violates the Plaintiff’s’
constitutionally and federally protected rights, including Article 1, Sections 1-3 and 10 of the Missouri
Constitution, the 14th amendment of the Constitution of the United States, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
“The Springfield Public Schools re-entry plan is incredibly harmful to many students, but especially to
students with unique disabilities and circumstances.Many of these students are unable to participate in online learning and will regress. SPS has not provided equal access to education for these students. In addition, the plan creates unnecessary economic hardship on families who have to quit jobs in order to
homeschool their children or attempt to hire professionals who are trained to work with unique
abilities,” states Kristi Fulnecky.
“The residents of Missouri have rights to free and equal access to public
education as provided for by our property taxes. If SPS does not offer a five day in-person learning
option, the plaintiffs would like to see a partial refund of property taxes for reduced in-class learning. The majority of families in the Springfield School System have been scrambling to piece together school,
care and even therapy options for their children.If the school doesn’t offer a five day a week in-person option, the education and mental state of these children will suffer. The current plan does more harm than good. If the majority of school districts in Missouri can offer five day in-person options, then I believe that the largest school district in Missouri can too.”
