The link below is the bill list approved during the 10/12/2023 BOE. As expected, this month’s legal bills are lower; we suspect how bills are approved is a matter of optics.
The first bill list of 2023 (January) totaled a whopping $31,467 spent on legal services– recall this was month one of two new BOE Members joining the Board, one of whom could not sit with the BOE for the first meeting. It was also the month where the re-org meeting happened.
Our next whopper occurred in April during the theatrics connected to budget and re-organization, coming in at ~ $38,000 for legal services.
Finally, in August, “when parents aren’t paying attention,” according to one BOE Member, we saw ~$35,000 approved for legal services.
So far, based on our analysis, the District has shelled out $155,000 in legal services – the lion’s share going to the law firm of Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri, and Jacobs (~$77,000 so far), with the rest being split among three other firms. Consider that in 2018, prior to Dr. Varley becoming our Superintendent, our legal spending was just under $70,000 – less than what we’ve paid just one firm over 10 months.
So, in just ten months of bill lists, one firm (Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri, and Jacobs) had sucked more blood out of this District than the entirety of the year before Dr. Varley’s tenure. The firm was brought into the District during Dr. Varley’s tenure and she has fought tooth and nail to keep them here.
It also appears that members of this firm have a track record of public concern in this arena.
The other thing to keep in mind (and it could be that maybe I went through it too fast) is that I could not find Strauss Esmay anywhere on the bill lists.
This can mean:
I am looking for the wrong name or missed it, and our legal spending is higher YTD
OR
They are holding onto the bills, and we can expect a massive bill later this year or early next year.
OR
We have yet to use them this year (I find it hard to believe as they are constantly mentioned at BOE Meetings).
Articles on the BHPSNJ Legal and Ethics Troubles
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