PORT ORCHARD — A summons and complaint has been filed on behalf of South Kitsap School District board director Jeff Daily against the school’s board of directors.

Daily’s attorney, Sarah Lippek, clarified that this court action was not a suit against the board.

“We were directed by the court clerk to file it as a summons and complaint,” Lippek said. “While this looks in the caption like suing the board, it’s actually an appeal of a board decision and the failure of the board to make other decisions. So it’s not a lawsuit against the board.”

Lippek said the summons and complaint was filed because Daily believes he has taken all other measures to have his complaints addressed by the board. Lippek said she could not share specific details of those complaints at this time.

The summons and complaint is appealing what Lippek described as the board’s inaction in addressing Daily’s concerns and the board’s decision not to move forward in addressing the complaints.

In a July 21 board meeting, Daily inquired about the status of the complaints he had made to the board. He then motioned that if the complaints had yet to be investigated internally, that they be referred to a third-party investigator. This motion failed.

There are ongoing complaints against Daily, some of which are state ethical violations, Lippek said. But she added that the board has not gone through the proper procedure to establish itself as an ethics enforcer. Lippek said these complaints, however, are being investigated while Daily’s are not. They are also asking the court to examine the board’s procedures in handling complaints and their ethics policies.

While Lippek again said the complaints being made by Daily cannot yet be shared publicly, she said they are “capricious and arbitrary.”

“You can’t allege that someone’s an asshole; you can’t allege that they’re unpleasant to be around,” Lippek said.

Daily has often been the minority opinion on the board and part of contentious discussions during meetings since beginning his term as District 5 director in 2020. In one rancorous session, he called for his own censure in April.

In response to the summons and complaint, Superintendent Tim Winter said via email, “We are not able to respond because this is a legal matter.”