A handful of parents and community members in the Eugene School District have criticized school board members over their decision to sue The Register-Guard in Lane County Circuit Court to avoid disclosing records about outgoing Superintendent Sheldon Berman’s performance evaluation.

In several emails sent to board members in the last week, some parents and voters say they are disappointed that the board would use taxpayer money to sue the newspaper instead of keeping those funds in classrooms.

Greg Ringer, an assistant international studies professor at the University of Oregon, threatened to vote against any current board member who runs for re-election. He also said he would campaign against any money measure the school district places on the ballot “until a process of transparency and integrity is fully established,” which he said would include releasing all records related to Berman without delay or legal action.

“I am an educator and a Eugene taxpayer, and I will not tolerate the arrogance exhibited by the Eugene School Board in its efforts to prevent the public, who pay Mr. Berman’s salary and elect school board members, from obtaining full disclosure of Berman’s performance as superintendent,” Ringer wrote to board members.

Last month, the Lane County District Attorney’s Office ordered the school district to release 12 pages of emails in which board members and Berman discussed the board’s supervision and evaluation of Berman. The Register-Guard sought the disclosure order after the district declined to provide the records to the newspaper.

The district argues that the elected school board members and Berman need to be assured that their discussions are confidential so they can freely talk about issues related to Berman’s performance and evaluation.

Disclosure of the emails would “inhibit” board members and Berman “from freely and frankly contributing to the free flow of information and ideas that is an indispensable ingredient in forging an effective multi-person policy-making body,” the lawsuit states.

Said school board Chairman Jim Torrey on Wednesday: “In this case, we believe our decision to bring legal action was in the best interest of the school district and the students within it.” Torrey declined to comment further on the lawsuit.

The board voted unanimously after a closed-door session on Dec. 17 to sue the newspaper. The district hired Eugene law firm Harrang Long Gary Rudnick to handle the case and the original records request, which was submitted in April.

The school district has so far paid $11,956 since late April to the law firm for legal services in connection with the records request, a district official said.

Berman, who has led the district since 2011, announced in June that he would step down from his position in the summer of 2015 — a move that surprised many. Prior to the announcement, the board repeatedly delayed giving Berman his annual job review.

The board did not have any public discussions about whether to retain Berman, whose base salary is $209,229.

Board members agreed to not evaluate Berman’s performance again for the current school year.

Parent Bob Passaro wrote to board members and Berman via email to say he is “appalled” that the district is suing the newspaper.

Passaro, who worked for 14 years at The Register-Guard before leaving in 2012, said it angers him that the board would spend time and money on a lawsuit while his two daughters’ elementary classes have up to 27 students in them.

Passaro wrote that he wants to know how the board handled the situation with Berman and how members “made a hire that went awry so quickly.”

“If a person isn’t comfortable speaking ‘freely and frankly’ about public matters in public, I can’t imagine why they’d want to be an elected official in the first place,” Passaro said.

The board met on Wednesday evening to discuss the next steps in its superintendent search. The district, with help from a hired search consultant, has conducted an online survey, public forums and focus groups to discuss what the community and school district employees want in the district’s next leader.

The board hopes to hire a new superintendent in the spring.

Follow Josephine on Twitter @j_woolington . Email josephine.woolington@registerguard.com .