Pretrial Meeting Scheduled For Shenandoah County Suit

A pretrial conference is scheduled for today to set a hearing date for a lawsuit challenging Shenandoah County’s financing for a renovation project at the former Edinburg Middle School.

 

J. Jay Litten, attorney for the county, said he hopes the hearing date will be set for early January.

 

The suit was filed by Mark Prince, a contractor in Toms Brook, on Nov. 26. In it, he alleges that the sale of bonds intended to finance the $4.5 million renovation of the school building for use as a special needs learning center was carried out incorrectly.

 

Prince argues that a bond sale of this sort by the county requires a vote of the people.

 

But, in a response filed Nov. 29, Litten stated that Prince’s argument was based on a misreading of the pertinent section of the Virginia Constitution.

 

Renovations at the former Edinburg Middle School are under way and are expected to be completed in time for the learning center to open its doors next fall. The school will serve students with autism and severe emotional disabilities.

 

Charterhouse School, a Richmond-based special education provider, will pay rent to the county for use of the facility. The rent is meant to pay off the debt service on the renovation costs.

 

Prince will not be present at today’s conference because he is out of the country, according to Brad Pollack, a Woodstock attorney who has represented him in several other lawsuits. In this suit, however, Prince is representing himself.

 

The conference is scheduled at 9 a.m. in Shenandoah County Circuit Court.

 

Litten said Wednesday he has nothing new to report in regard to the litigation and his arguments remain in line with his filed response.

 

Contact Kaitlin Mayhew at 574-6290 or kmayhew@dnronline.com