Because the Davis Board of Education went on to approve a different boundary proposal in January, the parents' lawsuit is now considered "moot," and is dismissed, according to 2nd District Judge Michael Allphin's ruling, which was issued Tuesday.

Randall Edwards, the attorney who represented the Davis parents, said he wished Allphin's ruling had been broader.

"I believe if [Davis administrators] violate the law in the future, someone will have to bring another lawsuit to bring them to heel," Edwards said.

After the lawsuit's plaintiffs were granted a restraining order, the district hired a former superintendent to propose a new high school map rather than hold public meetings. That frustrated some community members.

"The fact of the matter is they've been sneaky, arrogant and cowardly," Edwards said. "They don't want to hear from the public, that seems fairly clear."

Chris Williams, a Davis district spokesman, disagreed with the lawyer's assessment of the district's attitude. In fact, Davis had provided patrons with an "unbelievable" ability to comment last fall and made a concerted effort to reach out to all parents, he said. That included postcards, voice mails and open houses.

"The only other thing we could have done was to go knocking on doors," he said.

---

* JULIA LYON can be contacted at jlyon@sltrib.com or 801-257-8748.