Board president responds to complaints about high legal fees
In response to residents’ calls for the ouster of James Ellison, the Coatesville Area School District solicitor, School Board President Neil Campbell released the following statement:
The Coatesville Area School District has realized significant savings as a result of the efforts of solicitor James Ellison and the law firm of Rhoads & Sinon, said School Board President Neil Campbell.
Campbell said that Rhoads & Sinon has saved the CASD taxpayers roughly $4.6 million since 2008, including $1.4 million in savings involving disputes over special education matters that were resolved favorably; $1.4 million in disputes involving real estate assessment appeals; and the successful effort to revoke the charter of the Graystone Academy Charter School.
“The taxpayers of this district have been very well served by our solicitor. We take very seriously our commitment to use taxpayers’ dollars effectively and I’m very confident that our solicitor’s legal representation has produced significant savings for our district and all taxpayers,” Campbell said.
“As a result of the firm’s representation in the Graystone matter, the taxpayers were saved $1.8 million in subsidies that it otherwise would have paid to the Charter School in 2012 alone. In the long term, as a result the closure of the school, the school district will save an average of $4.6 million a year,” Campbell said.
“There were an inordinate amount of legal proceedings raised throughout the Graystone matter. At each turn, Rhoads & Sinon provided excellent and ultimately successful representation,” Campbell said.
Rhoads & Sinon charges the district a rate of $180 per hour, which is at the lower end of the fees charged by most school district solicitors. The firm has raised its fee just once in ten years, from $160 to the current $180 per hour.
Solicitor always tries to give best to their client, as Mr James Ellison has done in case of The Coatesville Area School District, solicitor always give an advice to their client, which will give best to his client.
To say that the legal expenses are justified just because they came in under the savings amounts is ludicrous. While the hourly rate for Ellison is less than rates from other firms, the number of hours he bills for his activities is excessive. In fact, several people have taken the monthly bills and determined that they imply hundreds and even more than a thousand hours of work during a single month were devoted to school district business at the hourly rate quoted by Mr. Campbell. I find that extremely hard to believe.
Perhaps the appointment of a more expensive and competent (and ethical) attorney would have resulted in the same savings at much lower legal fees. Even if billing was accurate for the hours worked, a different attorney may have been able to advise the board in a way that brought a swifter resolution to many of these disputes. When comparing our district’s legal fees to those of other districts, the total costs seem completely out of line.
I’d like to see what Mr. Campbell and the board have to say in response to this. I’d also like them to issue an RFP for a new solicitor in January, as board policy specifies. This time, when we select a solicitor, let’s look at his/her track record for winning cases and low fees, and not judge someone just on the basis of their hourly rate.
This article reminds me of Sally Fields’ famous closing line in the movie Absence of Malice. When asked if the information she has provided to answer a question is true she answers, “No, but it is accurate.” The key to avoiding legal fees is to hire people who can identify the red flags in the educational process and address them proactively before they leave the building level. This includes proactively responding to issues between teachers and teachers, administration and teachers, teachers and parents, board and taxpayers, teachers and students, and all of the above and the media. When any of the above shareholders feel exempt or above the process, they render the district vulnerable to accusations of harassment and discrimination.