St. James resident Donna Olson filed a lawsuit on Nov. 8, 2025, in Phelps County 25th Circuit Court against the St. James R-1 School District and its Board of Education President Jon Rapp over an email she says falsely accused her of harassment.

In 2022 and again in 2024, Olson wrote a series of letters to the editor published in the Saint James Press criticizing the St. James varsity boys basketball head coach Ben Smith. The letters sparked public debate within the community and an email from Rapp to Olson followed in August 2024, alleging harassment.

“During our investigation,” Rapp wrote, “we found that there were threats made to two employees of our district from someone living in your household…If there is continued harassment or threats from you, or anyone in your home, you and anyone associated with those threats will be asked to not be on school grounds at any time,” according to an excerpt from the letter.

The lawsuit alleges Rapp’s accusations were false and defamatory. It also claims the email was spread throughout the district and discussed among members of the community, causing harm to Olson’s reputation.

“As a direct and proximate result of defendants’ publication and repetition of these false statements, plaintiff has suffered substantial harm to her reputation, humiliation, and community ostracism, together with emotional distress and the incurrence of attorney fees and expenses to defend herself and to obtain public records necessary to clear her name,” Olson’s petition outlines.

Olson also claims the district violated Missouri’s Sunshine Law, which grants citizens the right to access public records. She says it failed to provide the documentation Rapp used to determine that the threats occurred and the materials used in the investigation referenced in his email.

After Olson made multiple formal requests for the records, the district allegedly issued partial and heavily redacted responses, citing legal exemptions, and later claimed the investigation never occurred. 

According to Olson’s petition, “Defendants’ refusal to produce records, to segregate non-exempt information, or to substantiate their claimed exemptions demonstrates a deliberate evasion of public transparency and accountability required by Missouri law.”

Olson is suing the school district and Rapp, both individually and as board president, alleging they acted together in sending the email and withholding records, leading to harm to her reputation. She is seeking at least $25,000 in damages.

Rapp filed a motion on Dec. 11 to dismiss all counts asserted against him, claiming he is not held liable under the Missouri Sunshine Law because he is not a public governmental body.

He also claims he is entitled to official immunity. This means he can’t be personally sued for actions taken as part of his duties as board president unless he was acting outside the scope of his authority or with intentions to break the law, which he claims he was not.

“The petition fails to plead any facts demonstrating how an email which was sent from his district email relating to a district investigation is outside the scope of his authority and duties as president of the board of education,” Rapp’s motion to dismiss states.

The district also filed a motion to dismiss in December, arguing it is protected by sovereign immunity, which generally shields public entities from lawsuits. While the district is not asking the court to dismiss the Sunshine Law claim, it denies violating the law.

The case is currently pending in Phelps County 25th Circuit Court and a hearing on the defendants’ motions to dismiss is scheduled for March 19. Olson has requested a jury trial.