LISBON — A case alleging violations of the Open Meetings Act against the Wellsville school board appears to remain open, but a recent judgment sided with the school board on a few of the claims in the complaint filed by Brian Ames of Mogadore.

Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam issued the ruling Wednesday, finding that the school board adopted a rule and follows board policy when issuing notices of regular and special meetings and that there is no evidence to support the claim of threatened violations by the board when calling for executive sessions.

Washam also agreed with the school board’s request for summary judgment to deny the claim that the board meeting minutes don’t include the time of the meeting, noting that the law doesn’t require a public entity to include the time of the meeting in the minutes.

He ruled that Ames failed to satisfy the burden to prove summary judgment was deserved on the claim that the school board failed to provide sufficient notice to the public of the time and place of a special meeting. The school board opposed Ames’ request of summary judgment on that count, noting the time and place of meetings is posted on the district’s website.

Earlier this year, Washam ruled against the school board’s motion to dismiss the case, but granted judgment against the school board regarding meeting minutes not being detailed and minutes reflecting entry into executive session for “an unapproved purpose, without stating a proper purpose, or when no reason is given.”

In the most recent ruling, Washam said the judgment is not a final or appealable order since not all the claims or the rights and liabilities of the parties have been decided.

A pretrial remains set for 1 p.m. Nov. 20, with a court trial still set for 9 a.m. Dec. 17.

Wellsville school board is the lone Columbiana County entity left with an active case filed by Ames, who has filed complaints statewide alleging violations of the Open Meetings Act. Settlements were apparently reached with the Crestview, East Liverpool, Columbiana, United Local and Leetonia school boards and Columbiana City Council for the complaints Ames filed against them for alleged Open Meetings Act violations.

According to Common Pleas Court records, the attorney representing Ames filed voluntary dismissals against Columbiana City Council on June 16, Leetonia school board on June 2, East Liverpool school board on March 12, Columbiana school board on March 24, United Local school board on March 25 and Crestview school board on Dec. 31, 2024. All of the cases were filed in 2024 and included financial settlements paid to Ames of varying amounts of $5,000 or less.

A similar lawsuit filed against the Columbiana County Board of Elections in 2022 ended in 2023 with a $3,500 settlement.

Some of the allegations against the entities included improper executive sessions during public meetings and other violations related to public meetings, including related to meeting minutes or notification of meetings.

mgreier@mojonews.com