Professional Documents
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9.1 Legal Report
9.1 Legal Report
1 Office of the Superintendent of Schools MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Rockville, Maryland September 8, 2009 MEMORANDUM To: From: Subject: Members of the Board of Education Jerry D. Weast, Superintendent of Schools Legal Fees Report for June 2009
This report covers expenditures for legal fees to outside counsel for FY 2009 through the month of June 2009. A complete set of bills submitted and paid to each firm is available for your review in the Board office. The charts in Attachment A compare current expenses with those from the same period last year and provide information on the following: Non-special education legal expenses by firm Special education expenses for outside counsel, parent attorney fees, and other miscellaneous charges Special education expenses by firm
I also have provided, in Attachment B, a list of the categories that better reflects the type of legal advice and litigation services being provided to Montgomery County Public Schools by outside law firms for non-special education matters. The categories in Attachment B are defined as follows: Personnel: Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaints, appeals by personnel Facilities: construction, capital projects, use of facilities Procurement: contracts, bids Student: appeals, subpoenas Policy: development, implementation, interpretation (includes regulations) Financial: expenditures, state aid Collective bargaining: negotiations, arbitration hearings, grievances Miscellaneous: many categories grouped together under one charge
September 8, 2009
Non-special education legal expenses The total charges for non-special education legal expenses in June 2009 were $56,569. The cumulative total for FY 2009 was $946,341. This is 20 percent lower than the amount for FY 2008. The Carney Kelehan bill for June totaled $51,189. The largest amount ($22,089) was for policy matters, the largest part of which involved a Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Act (MOSHA) citation ($6,515). The next largest amount was for facilities matters ($11,749), the largest part of which involved stormwater management permits ($7,370). Personnel matters totaled $11,573, the largest part of which related to an Office for Civil Rights (OCR) complaint ($3,486). Procurement matters totaled $2,701 and are related to an extension of a procurement contract. The next largest amount was for student matters ($1,584), the largest part of which involved a student residency appeal ($990). Miscellaneous matters totaled $1,493, the largest part of which involved general counsel duties. The Venable bill for June totaled $5,380. The largest amount ($3,810) was for collective bargaining matters, all of which involved three employee grievances. Student matters totaled $1,570, all of which involved student transfer appeals. Special education legal expenses Special education legal fees for outside counsel for June 2009 totaled $55,279. The FY 2009 total of $510,735 is $257,067 (33 percent) lower than for the previous fiscal year. Total FY 2009 special education legal costs of $843,321 are $285,519 (25 percent) lower than for the previous fiscal year and $262,173 (45 percent) higher than the budgeted amount of $581,148. Jeffrey A. Krew had charges of $55,279 in June, including work on ten cases, seven of which are on appeal in state or federal court ($10,412) and three of which involved administrative hearings ($41,034). Additional charges were related to participation in Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings ($3,833). If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Larry Bowers, chief operating officer, at 301-2793626 or Dr. Marshall Spatz, director, Department of Management, Budget, and Planning, at 301279-3547. JDW:LAB:MCS:jp Attachments
ATTACHMENT A
$ $
$ $
$ $
$ $
$ $
$ $
$ $
$ $
13,429 JULY
27,883 $ 29,269
ATTACHMENT B
Total Charge
$11,573 11,749 2,701 3,154
Firm
Carney Kelehan* Carney Kelehan Carney Kelehan Carney Kelehan Venable Carney Kelehan
Charges by Firm
$11,573 11,749 2,701 1,584 1,570 22,089 -
Venable Carney Kelehan Carney Kelehan Venable Hogan and Hartson Jeffrey A. Krew Other
TOTAL *Formerly Reese & Carney Note: Totals may differ due to rounding.