Brandon Twp.- Students who attend Brandon Schools but live in Groveland Township will continue to pay a $6 fee per year if they want a Brandon Township Public Library card.
Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Michael Warren issued an opinion and order in the civil suit Brandon School District v. the Brandon Township Public Library on Sept. 9, stating that ‘from the outset, the Plaintiff’s breach of contract and unjust enrichment claims were devoid of arguable legal merit.?
Thomas Vincent, an attorney from the Bloomfield Hills law firm Plunkett & Cooney, represented the library and says the case is now technically considered settled.
‘The judge dismissed most of the lawsuit and the school district agreed to discontinue the rest,? Vincent said. ‘The judge concluded this is a lawsuit that should have never been filed to begin with.?
The dispute surrounds a 1997 contract between the school district and the library over the interpretation of a Student Patron Fee Agreement. At the same time, the Real Estate Transfer Agreement contract transferred about two acres of school district property for $1 to the library, for construction of the current facility which opened in 2000.
The controversy erupted when library officials said in December 2003 that Groveland Township residents contribute only three percent (about $25,000) of the library operating revenue. Conversely, township residents pay the majority of the library operations through a millage of about 1.8265. As a result, the library board requested that Groveland Township residents agree to a new yearly contract of $190,686, to cover about 2,340 library cards.
The Groveland Township Board of Trustees turned down the request and the school board approved a lawsuit against the library after being notified in February 2004 that the library would charge Brandon students living in Groveland Township the $6 card fee. School officials balked at the charge and maintained the library chose to put the kids in the middle of the fee disagreement with Groveland Township.
‘The lawsuit was always about what was best for all students in the Brandon School District,? said Brandon Superintendent Tom Miller. ‘The lawsuit was never about the money, it was always about accessibility and usage of materials in the library and it’s my hope that the district can work with the library in the future and all students will have access to materials there.?
Library director JoAnn Gavey says the library board is responsible to Brandon Township residents and is extremely pleased with the order. She defends the library’s right to set a student patron fee for non-resident students of the Brandon School District as a way to ensure funds from Groveland residents using the library.
‘We signed a real estate transfer agreement and we all agreed to it,? said Gavey, who doesn’t feel that she is taking advantage of the school district after they sold the library their current land for $1. ‘Nowhere in the contract did it state non-resident fees could not be charged to students. We are serving Brandon Township in an exemplary way.?
The library board met in a special meeting Sept. 19 and agreed not to pursue sanctions against the school district for legal fees if the school district would drop any further legal action against the library and put the agreement in writing.
Gavey says that the library’s insurer had paid more than $15,000 in legal fees when she last checked two months ago. The library was responsible for a $2,500 deductible. When attorney Vincent was asked what the final total of fees for the library, a public entity, was, he refused to answer, saying, ‘it’s none of your business.?
Brandon Superintendent Tom Miller said he was unsure of how much the lawsuit had cost the school district because the issue hadn’t been finalized, but he is relieved it is over.
‘The cost to continue the lawsuit would be better spent enhancing the education of our students,? said Miller, who hopes to work out the district’s differences with the library. ?(The lawsuit) was hurting our community and our students and our district as a whole. I’m glad it’s over and it’s time to put it to rest and move forward. It’s unfortunate the judge made the decision he did. We don’t agree with it. But once you analyze everything, it was time to put it behind us.?
Gavey is looking forward to having a good relationship with the school district, noting that Miller has been forthcoming and agreeable about after-school issues the library has had with large numbers of students from neighboring Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School using the facility from about 2:50-5 p.m. daily.
‘No longer will there be any more money spent haggling between two legal entities,? Gavey said. ‘These are two autonomous boards and neither has the right to coerce another board in making policy. This decision serves Brandon Township residents well because no more funds will be spent on this issue. A $6 fee (for non-residents) is fair.?
