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RONAN - The parents of two 11-year-old boys who died of exposure and alcohol poisoning last winter after cutting class to go drink have sued Ronan Public Schools for $4 million.

They allege the school district failed in its duty "to follow its policy and protect and safeguard children that were entrusted to their care."

The lawsuit also alleges that "Pablo School District No. 30" has discriminated against American Indians by "failing to properly select, train and implement Native American staff who are sensitive to the disability of alcoholism," thus making Pablo School District partially responsible "for the actions of children who were allowed to leave school and die of alcohol and hypothermia."

Both of the dead boys were Indians.

There is no Pablo School District 30, however.

The two boys, Justin Benoist and Frank "Frankie" Nicolai III, attended Ronan Middle School, which is in Ronan District 30. Pablo Elementary School is in Pablo, about five miles north of Ronan, and is one of three elementary schools in Ronan District 30.

The boys went missing on Friday, Feb. 27, and their bodies were found in a snow-covered field the following Monday near a tribal housing complex in Ronan. Autopsies indicated Benoist died of hypothermia, with alcohol toxicity a contributing factor, and Nicolai died of alcohol poisoning.

The lawsuit alleges that "Benoist and Nicolai were transported by bus to the Pablo School on or about the 27th day of February, 2004." The boys, however, did not attend the Pablo school.

In fact, one of them was transported by bus from Pablo to Ronan Middle School that morning. The other was driven to school in Ronan by his mother, according to Missoulian interviews with people involved.

The lawsuit also asserts: "There has been at least one prior death related to alcohol abuse by minor children in this community. The defendant (Ronan School District) was on notice of this problem."

Frankie Benoist's brother Tyler Benoist, was 14 when he died on Nov. 28, 2003. He was found dead that morning in a vacant trailer in Pablo that caught fire, apparently after an all-night party by juveniles partying in the vacant dwelling. An autopsy showed his blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit for an adult driver. He died of smoke inhalation.

As of Friday, the school district had not yet responded to the suit, which was filed Thursday in Lake County District Court in Polson. A copy of the lawsuit was obtained by the Missoulian late Friday afternoon. Ronan District Superintendent Andy Holmlund could not be reached for comment at home or work.

Justin Benoist and Frankie Nicolai left Ronan Middle School early without permission on the afternoon of Feb. 27, school officials have said. The boys had no history of alcohol use in school, a school official said at the time.

Both were enrolled members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and were sixth-graders in the public school system, the school officials said.

The lawsuit alleges that the two boys left school early and "were seen leaving school early by officials and/or representatives of the school." The lawsuit does not say which official or school representative saw them leaving.

"Despite the fact that the school was put on actual notice that the youths were truant and may be in risk of doing something to endanger their lives, no positive action was taken by the school to search for, look and find these children, or report them to the authorities," the lawsuit alleges.

The boys were reported missing to law enforcement officials by their parents, not by school authorities, tribal law enforcement officials said at the time. Family members searching for the boys found their bodies.

The lawsuit seeks monetary judgments for both "wrongful death" and "survivorship" - legal claims for which separate monetary awards can be made by a jury.

"Justin Benoist and Frank Nicolai III did not die instantly but their death (sic) was slow and agonizing, and the Plaintiffs are therefore entitled to recover damages for the pain and suffering that accompanied their last hours of life, medical expenses, burial expenses, loss of income, loss of earning capacity and all other damages allowed by law," the lawsuit claims.

The plaintiffs are Norma Fox, suing on behalf of the estate of her son Justin Benoist, and Frank Nicolai and Arlene S. Powell, on behalf of their son Frank Nicolai III.

Reporter John Stromnes can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or jstromnes@missoulian.com.

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