KALAMAZOO, MI -- If Michigan's School Reform Office tries to close two Kalamazoo Public Schools, they'll have to set a court date first.

Kalamazoo County's largest school district is teaming up with nine parents to sue the state office, saying it does not have the legal authority to determine if schools should close. Superintendent Michael Rice said he plans to file the lawsuit "early next week" with the Michigan Court of Claims.

"We do not believe the SRO has acted legally, we do not believe it has acted collegially or properly, and we most assuredly don't believe it has acted in the best interest of children and families," Rice said.

After three years of being ranked among the lowest-achieving Michigan institutions, Washington Writers' Academy and Woodward School for Research and Technology are at risk of being shut down by the office. At a Wednesday, Feb. 15 Board of Education meeting, trustees voted to authorize Rice to take legal action against the state's School Reform Office for the agency's threat to close the two Kalamazoo elementary schools.

Thursday, Rice held a press conference with six parents who will be listed as co-plaintiffs on the lawsuit. He did not outline the school district's legal strategy or the foundation of its case against the state.

When asked about the financial and legal resources that will be needed for a potentially extended litigation period, Rice said he was confident the school district would be fine.

"We don't believe the law is on their side," Rice said. "We also believe that it is very poor public policy."

The School Reform Office initially was housed in the Michigan Department of Education, a department not controlled by Gov. Rick Snyder. In 2015, the governor signed an executive order which transferred the office to the state Department of Technology, Management and Budget, which he does control.

Growing support

In response to the School Reform Office's threat, school districts from across the state have decided to lawyer-up.

The same day KPS voted, the Saginaw Board of Education gave its superintendent authority to move forward with legal action if necessary. Last week, the school board retained an attorney to stop the closure of two schools on the state's priority list.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the board of the Detroit Public Schools Community District also agreed to sue the state office if it attempted to close any of its 16 schools on the priority list. It hired a law firm last week.

Rice said Kalamazoo and Saginaw have discussed a joint lawsuit, but KPS hasn't solicited other school districts to join in litigation.

"There are a number of things that are like herding cats and one of them is bringing school districts together for anything other than lunch," Rice said.

Meanwhile, chair of the Senate Education Committee Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair, is sponsoring a bill that would repeal the law allowing the SRO to close consistently low-performing schools.

Even the Michigan Board of Education has joined a growing protest of the office by bipartisan elected officials, parents and school administrators.

On Tuesday, the state board said no school should be closed because there was no clear definition of whether a closing would create "unreasonable hardship," a criteria used by the office when deciding to close a school.

Before site visits performed by the SRO on Feb. 7 and 8, Rice inquired whether the potential for students to lose the Kalamazoo Promise was an unreasonable hardship. He said a SRO representative didn't know what the promise was and couldn't define what would qualify under the criteria.

READ MORE: See the law that gives the School Reform Office power

Last week, the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution in support of Kalamazoo Public Schools and maintaining local control of school districts.

A letter asking the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners to join the opposition movement was also signed by Rep. Jon Hoadley, D-Kalamazoo, Rep. Brandt Iden, R-Oshtemo Township, Rep. Dave Maturen, R-Vicksburg, and Sen. Margaret O'Brien, R-Portage.

"I think what you'll find is every locally elected official that has anything to do with Kalamazoo will be supportive of our position to keep these schools open," Rice said.

Jim Seaman, one of the parents who will be listed as a co-plaintiff on the lawsuit, visited the School Reform Office in Lansing to hand-deliver a petition asking the state to remove the two schools from the office's priority school and next level accountability lists.

The petition has since been left open and how has almost 2,000 signatures as of Feb. 16.

Kalamazoo's Wednesday motion stated closing the schools would "harm the educational opportunities of the children and disrupt the live of their families." The motion authorized Rice to take "all necessary measures" to ensure the filing and prosecution of a state legal complaint, also directing him to take any other legal action at the state or federal level to prevent the closure of the two schools.

According to an October poll, only two percent of 600 likely voters believed closing low-performing schools is the best way to improve education in Michigan.

'Infuriated Kalamazoo'

Rice said the School Reform Office has scared communities in the state and "infuriated" residents in the city and Kalamazoo County.

"It is somewhat ironic that an entity that professes to believe in parent choice wants to pull that choice away from parents," Rice said. "Parents have determined that these schools work for them and their children. If you're a parent choice advocate, what more is there to say?"

Both Washington Writers' Academy and Woodward School for Research and Technology have averaged at least 350 students in each of the last 10 years, Rice said.

Rice said SRO representatives were ignorant of the significant investments made in both schools within the last several years.

Washington Writers' Academy received a new $10.7 million building last year, financed by a bond issue approved by KPS voters in 2010. Woodward also received a $5.5 million renovation during 2013 and 2014.

"This is not like a crumbling school in a declining enrollment jurisdiction, these schools are largely full," Rice said. "They are schools to which parents want to send their children."

READ MORE: See the full list of 38 schools at risk of closing

Several of the parents who will be listed as co-plaintiffs stated Thursday that they chose Washington and Woodward after looking at several schools in Kalamazoo.

Dara and Jim Seaman said they Woodward School for Research to expose their daughter to a diverse learning environment. Jim said it was "hands down" the best decision for their family.

"We really believe in this school and how they do things," he said. "We thoroughly believe the SRO might not have authority to close it and we are scared for our kids and what might happen. We don't think it's the best thing for our child or any of the children there.

What's next?

Representatives of the School Reform Office visited Washington and Woodward for four hours each last week. The visits consisted of five parts, Rice said, including focus groups with teachers, students, parents and community members, classroom observations, and meetings with administrators.

"That four-hour window was the only window that the SRO had ever been to any of these schools," Rice said.

Rice said he has had little contact from the office since.

So, what come next? Rice said the office hasn't told him.

Before any schools are closed, the state would have to ensure that any students displaced by a closure would be able to enroll at another nearby school with better academic performance, said State School Reform Officer Natasha Baker.

The process is expected to occur during a 30 to 45 days period starting Jan. 20, and will include an examination of geographic, academic and enrollment capacity of other public school options. Rice said the office has been vague as to when the deadline is.

The Michigan School Reform Office released 79 schools identified as needing improvement from the priority school list after meeting the exit standards -- the largest amount in Michigan school reform history.

Three of the 79 were KPS schools -- Milwood Magnet School, Hillside Middle School and Woods Lake Elementary School. Maple Street Magnet School was put on the list in 2010 and released in 2014.

"We are expecting in the end that these schools will remain open," Rice said.