The people responsible for the mess should shoulder the costs involved.
You raise a very interesting point; the taxpayers of Dover ought not be stuck with the cost of this debacle, but as I understand it, generally, individuals acting in their capacity as government officials are not personally liable for the consequences of their actions...... EXCEPT, in some states, it is my understanding that if a government official exceeds his authority and commits an act under the color of his office, but which is, in fact, not appropriate to his office, he CAN be held PERSONALLY liable.
I'm neither an attorney, nor do I play one on TV, nor do I know if such a law exists in Pennsylvania, or if it is applicable to this case. But it's food for thought....
"I'm neither an attorney, nor do I play one on TV"
And you probably didn't stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night. :)
One thing that might be a lever for going after the school board is the perjury angle. Perjury is prima facie evidence of bad faith; one might argue that, by engaging in what amounts to fraud, the school board violated their oaths of office and thus were not acting as government officials.
"Any judge will tell you that they welcome the opportunity to have important cases on their dockets. . . . That's why they take these jobs." -Judge Jones
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I guess we should assume the judge is motivated purely out of concern for science; atheistic science anyway.