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NAPLES — Three Collier County School Board members are once again at the center of a lawsuit surrounding the hiring of Superintendent Dennis Thompson.

School Board members Steve Donovan and Richard Calabrese, and board Chairwoman Linda Abbott, were named in a lawsuit filed Monday by Teamsters Local 79 and Charlotte Locke, a Collier County school bus driver.

The suit contends the board members violated the Government in the Sunshine Law last year when they fired then-Superintendent Ray Baker and hired Thompson.

The Collier County School Board also was named in the suit.

“It’s important this community gets to the bottom of what we think occurred,” said Mark Richard, the attorney representing the union and Locke. “Based on information and research, we allege and believe they hired (Thompson) outside of the sunshine.”

According to the suit, phone records show that Abbott and Calabrese were in contact with Thompson about the Collier County job before the board voted to fire Baker. The suit goes on to allege that the board members communicated with each other regarding the selection of Thompson.

The state’s Sunshine Law prohibits representatives of the same government board to meet privately or discuss official matters outside of a public meeting. Violations can result in fines, or even jail time.

The board voted 3-2 to terminate Baker on July 31, 2007. At that same meeting, the board voted to begin discussing the superintendent’s position with Thompson.

Thompson was hired a few weeks later. No other candidates were interviewed for the position, a move that makes Locke and the union believe there is a Sunshine Law violation.

“Our research shows this decision was made ahead of time,” Richard said. “This clearly offends the Sunshine Law.”

School Board attorney Richard Withers said he was surprised by the union’s decision to claim there was a Sunshine violation.

He said the district was expecting some sort of action in the days leading up to the Sept. 18 decision about whether to privatize custodial services, but a lawsuit wasn’t what they expected.

“It’s basically an effort to harass Dr. Thompson,” Withers said. “It’s kind of a nutty tactic, and we expect to dispose of it pretty easily.”

This isn’t the first time the district was sued over Baker’s termination.

Baker filed a lawsuit against the district on Aug. 20, 2007, a month after hs firing. Baker’s lawsuit also alleged the board violated state Sunshine laws.

In his suit, Baker contended that Abbott, Donovan and Calabrese conspired against him by communicating in secret and with each other to declare his contract void before the board voted July 31, 2007.

The board voted 4-1 in May to accept a $555,000 settlement in Baker’s lawsuit. Under the terms of the agreement, the school district paid Baker $555,000 and Baker acknowledged the district didn’t violate Florida’s open records law.

Richard said the hope is that a judge will find that the board illegally terminated Baker last year and that Thompson’s contract is void.

The first of several depositions, which are sworn statements taken from witnesses, has been scheduled for Nov. 10, Richard said.