A lawsuit brought against the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District in February has been voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff.

The dismissal would allow the plaintiff, Gladbrook resident Charles Bearden, to join other suits that have been filed against the district without interfering with those claims.

Bearden’s case concerns a petition for injunction he filed the day the G-R School Board voted to close the Gladbrook elementary and middle school campus.

The board approved the closure in an effort to cut costs, which have increased as a result of reduced state funding and enrollment.

In his petition for injunction, Bearden requested the Marshall County District Court prevent the board from voting on the closure until further order. He also requested a neutral party be created to consider alternative means of resolving existing budget shortfalls in the G-R district.

Last week, Marshalltown attorney Darrell Meyer filed a voluntary dismissal in court on behalf of Bearden.

In an interview, Meyer noted the original case was filed to stop the vote from taking place, but the vote proceeded.

Withdrawing the case without prejudice allows Bearden to refile his suit on the basis the vote shouldn’t have taken place, Meyer said.

Additionally, Bearden may join suits which were filed by three parties in neighboring Tama County after the school board voted to close the Gladbrook campus, he said.

That allows Bearden to “wipe the slate clean” without setting precedent for how the suit in Tama County should be treated by the court based on court action in Marshall County.

Gladbrook residents are also discussing ways to possibly dissolve the G-R district. The Gladbrook campus could be added to a neighboring school district’s infrastructure, Bearden said in a previous interview.

Notification of neighboring school districts is under way, he said.

Fundraising has also occurred to cover any legal fees incurred in efforts to stop the closure, according to an email sent to group members in February.

Currently, schools in Reinbeck serve grades K-4 and 9-12 for both Gladbrook and Reinbeck youths. The Gladbrook campus serves grades K-2 for Gladbrook children and 5-8 for both communities.

Students who enroll in the G-R district are to attend school in Reinbeck starting in the 2015-16 school year. Grades K-6 will be held at the Reinbeck Elementary School building, and 7-12 at the Reinbeck High School.

Recent figures indicate about 126 students, 57 more students than last year, applied to open enroll outside the district. That number may change, however, in the months leading up to the first day of school.

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Contact Bennet Goldstein at 641-753-6611 or bgoldstein@timesrepublican.com. Follow him on Twitter @bennetgoldstein