Steve Bush, the president of the board, was also named as a defendant in the suit.
In 2015 and 2016, Amanda Hayes filed an out-of-country enrollment request for Dalila Brielle Hayes, to be enrolled in Meadow Bridge Elementary School, which is 5.1 miles from her home, according to a complaint filed Feb. 15 in Fayette Circuit Court.
Amanda Hayes claims the Summers County Board of Education approved the transfer request, but, on Sept. 7, 2016, Fayette County Board of Education disapproved the request.
Rather than travel the 25.3 miles to Hinton Elementary School in Summers County, Amanda Hayes enrolled Dalila Hayes in Danese Christian School, which has caused them to incur tuition and cost of books in the amount of $2,750 for the period of September 2015 through February 2017, according to the suit.
Amanda Hayes claims previously, her other children, who go to Meadow Bridge, had their out-of-country enrollment requests approved by Fayette County Board of Education.
Colleen Bowles, who is the foster parent of James Hicks and Nevaeh Hicks, also filed out-of-country questions for her foster children to attend school at Meadow Bridge, where her biological child, already attended.
The defendant also denied Bowles’ requests and acted arbitrarily and capriciously in not taking into consideration the travel time for the Hicks children is excessive when they reside within minutes of Meadow Bridge, according to the suit.
The plaintiffs are seeking for the children to be enrolled at Meadow Bridge and Hayes is seeking to be reimbursed for expenses incurred for tuition and books for enrollment at Danese Christian School since her child was not able to attend Meadow Bridge with her siblings. They are being represented by Barry L. Bruce of Barry L. Bruce & Associates.
Fayette Circuit Court case number: 17-C-78