By Wendy Gragg

Tribune-Herald staff writer

The halls will again be empty and the doors locked at G.L. Wiley Middle School next week.

In the latest chapter in the open-again, closed-again saga of the long-troubled East Waco campus, a state district judge Friday denied the temporary injunction that would have kept the school open while two Wiley families and an East Waco support group pressed a lawsuit against the Waco school district.

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Document: Read Judge Jim Meyer's ruling (PDF download / 68 KB)

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Slide show: First day of school at Wiley, Aug. 25

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Slide show: G.L. Wiley hearing Thursday, Aug. 21

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Slide show: East Waco speaks out at Aug. 7 school board meeting
Video: Watch what the community had to say

“We’re very pleased,” said Phillip McCleery, attorney for the Waco Independent School District. “I think we need to concentrate on what we need to do for these kids now.”

Friday’s ruling by 170th District Court Judge Jim Meyer shelves the temporary restraining order that had kept the school open since Monday, when the school board repeated its 4-3 vote — first cast on Aug. 7 — to close it and move its students to other campuses.

Waco ISD, in a statement, asked the parents of the roughly 100 students who returned to G.L. Wiley when the school opened Monday to enroll their children on Tuesday at the schools they would have attended before the court order was granted. Schools are closed Monday for Labor Day.

For most Wiley students, those schools are G.W. Carver Academy, Brazos Middle School or Cesar Chavez Middle School. For more information, parents should call the Office of Accountability and Instruction on Tuesday at 755-9425.

Meyer ruled that unless a school board is breaking the law or violating students’ legal rights, it’s not within a district court’s authority to second-guess a school board decision.

School board president David Schleicher, who voted twice to keep Wiley open, said Friday that the judge’s “well-reasoned decision provides much-needed certainty for this school year.”

“The district is hard at work to make sure the Wiley kids are welcome and successful at their new campuses,” he said.

Meyer originally found that, because of vague wording in the school board agenda for its controversial Aug. 7 meeting, the board was in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act when it voted, 4-3, to close the middle school because of dwindling enrollment.

However, the judge said Friday that the school board addressed those agenda shortcomings with clear, concise wording for another board meeting on Monday. That’s when the board voted again to close the campus.

Robert Notzon, attorney for the plaintiffs, said he respectfully disagreed with the judge and was crestfallen for those children who returned to Wiley Middle School for the start of classes this week.

“I’m disappointed until I think about the students at Wiley who returned and then I become heartbroken,” he said.

In his ruling, Meyer said he found no evidence backing up allegations of racial discrimination. He also said he found no evidence that the school’s closure had caused, as plaintiffs alleged, “imminent harm” and “irreparable injury” to the students.

Friday’s ruling comes after a week of lively testimony that included school board member Alex Williams — who represents East Waco — repeating his objections to the school’s closure and alleging that racism is on the rise within Waco ISD.

Questioning delved heavily into the hardship the closure was putting on parents and students, especially special education students. Attorneys also questioned witnesses about the details and intricacies of holding committee meetings and properly posting agenda items.

Notzon said he and fellow attorneys will meet with the plaintiffs — the two Wiley families and a group of Wiley supporters called Fighting to Save the Children — to decide the next step.

“Right now we’re considering what direction to take and what legal response will follow,” he said.

wgragg@wacotrib.com

757-6901