The meeting is only the second the new board has had since Carly Alvord, Dan Buffalo and Jen Hanson – elected as part of a unified campaign in November – took their oaths earlier this month.
They were joined by Board member Phil Kirby at the district office for the 3 p.m. meeting. The fifth board member, Lori Holmes, was on vacation but participated via conference call.
Absent for the meeting was district Superintendent April Leiferman. Buffalo, the board chair, said she is on vacation and also had another appointment on Thursday afternoon, so he excused her from attending.
The special meeting had two main topics, the first, handled in open session, regarding a proposed contract for legal services with the law firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore.
Buffalo said that the board asked him at its previous meeting to secure legal counsel to represent board members in special matters, including advising them in the relationship with the superintendent.
The November election was a heated one, with Leiferman a frequent target of the supporters of the new board members, who held her responsible for matters including the previous board’s action in October to remove Rachel Paarsch from the principal’s job at Terrace Middle School. Paarsch is Kirby’s daughter and also a close friend of Alvord.
Buffalo – the city of Lakeport's former finance director who now works in that same capacity for the city of Ukiah – said he contacted Liebert Cassidy Whitmore because of his familiarity with their work and their reputation. In addition to working for municipalities, they also have a practice in education law.
Holmes questioned hiring another firm, explaining that the district already has two law firms on retainer at a discounted rate, and both specialize in education.
“I understand that you wanted your own separate lawyer,” said Holmes, adding that they already have legal services, and she felt it was a more prudent route to use the services the district has paid for already.
Holmes added that she wanted every single dollar to go to students' education.
Hanson said she was glad they are going outside of the typical legal services the district has had. “I think that some of the advice may be questionable, from the outside looking in,” she said, adding, “It's nice to get a fresh set of eyes on it.”
Buffalo agreed. He said the firm would represent and offer advice to the board and not be available to the superintendent like other firms are for district business. In addition to matters dealing with the superintendent, Buffalo said the new firm would be available to advise on potential litigation.
Holmes said the board could have its own lawyer through the firms that already service it. “Education law is complicated,” she said, adding she didn't know how much Liebert Cassidy Whitmore did in the way of education.
Kristin Lindgren, an associate attorney at Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, traveled from Sacramento to answer the board's questions.
“Our firm has a robust public education practice group,” she said, explaining it doesn't do just municipal work.
Lindgren said she represents most community college districts in California, which are similar to K-12 districts.
Most of her 14 years of legal practice has been in K-12 education, and she said she's versed in that field's complexity. “This is what I do,” Lindgren said, noting that she can advise on a wide range of education topics, from student discipline to the Brown Act, free speech and much more, besides being able to offer training and workshops.
“I think it's a good idea for this board to have a fresh set of eyes on some of these issues,” said Buffalo.
Holmes asked about the knowledge of the district that the other firms offer. Buffalo said that would still be available to the board, which he pointed out is brand new.
During public comment, the board was questioned about the cost.
Lindgren would bill at $210 an hour, while a firm partner will bill at $325 per hour. Lindgren said the agreement doesn't require a retainer.
Buffalo had no estimate of how many hours the board would require of the firm. He said that in his experience, “The cost is what he cost is until the matter is resolved.”
He added, “We want to keep it as low as possible.”
During the public comment portion, Lake County News asked if the board had considered seeking an “ethical wall” in the existing firms in order to have an attorney that represented it alone, rather than the district as a whole, in an effort to keep them separate. He said he did not.
In response to further questions from Lake County News, Buffalo said that the money to pay for the contract would come from the district’s general fund, and he said he didn’t know if hiring an attorney for a board alone is a common thing to do.
Kirby then asked Lindgren if it was common for boards to have their own attorneys. She said she had offered similar services in other circumstances.
Hanson, an economics professor for Woodland Community College’s Lake County Campus, said that, from an economist’s point of view, the legal counsel could potentially save the district money. “It's hard to tell where we would end up.”
“I understand where you guys are coming from,” said Holmes, but she remained concerned about adding extra financial burden, which she said didn’t seem smart and could make staff angry.
She added that she knows the new board members “have a whole different vision.”
Hanson moved to approve the contract – which is dated Dec. 21 – with Alvord seconding. The board voted 4-1, with Holmes the lone dissenter.
The board then went into closed session to discuss, as stated on the agenda, “public employee discipline/dismissal/release” and one potential case of anticipated litigation. Lindgren went into the closed session with the board.
The closed session began shortly before 3:30 p.m. and continued until just before 5:15 p.m.
When the board reemerged, Buffalo said there was no action taken in the closed session.
He said the board directed Lindgren to prepare an item on the same personnel matter topic for a special closed session on Jan. 9, to precede the board’s regular meeting.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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