The School Board is sticking with its current general counsel instead of getting bids for its legal work, despite the efforts of one member.
Laura Zorc appears to be the only board member concerned with the large fees the district pays each year to its board attorney, Suzanne D’Agresta, her firm earning about $400,000 a year over the last five years, which includes her $264,000 yearly retainer.
D’Agresta, first hired by the board in 2006, said her fees have not changed since 2009.
Last June, in an attempt to cut costs, Zorc asked the board to issue a “Request for Professional Services” solicitation for the post of board attorney or “general counsel,” instead of simply rehiring D’Agresta, a discussion that went nowhere.
When she brought it up again at the April 24 meeting, she asked an RFP be issued for several legal services, including in-house general counsel. The last time the market was queried to see how much general council services would cost was 2012, she said, and “we owe it to the public to do our due diligence.”
According to Director of Purchasing Jeffrey Carver, three other firms submitted proposals in 2012, but D’Agresta stayed in place.
During the latest discussion, three members waffled as they had in June. But Dale Simchick, who mildly rebuffed the idea last summer, gave an impassioned defense for keeping D’Agresta last week. Several times she said, “I have absolute confidence in our attorney,” adding that an RFP would indicate “a vote of no confidence.”
“Money is not an issue for me. Lawsuits are millions,” Simchick said.
D’Agresta is representing the board in the desegregation order and shouldn’t be pulled off “the most important lawsuit” the district is litigating. Not until D’Agresta was hired did the board start addressing the 50-year-old problem, Simchick said.
Simchick asked Zorc point blank, “Are you unhappy with this attorney?” and questioned if something had happened recently to make Zorc suggest seeking other counsel.
“That is not part of this discussion,” Zorc said, reminding Simchick she had brought it up last June and made legal fees a campaign plank after listening to constituent complaints in 2016. “I’m not looking to oust Husch Blackwell, who is handling the desegregation case,” Zorc said.
Attorney John Borkowski of Chicago-based Husch Blackwell is the lead attorney in the case, hired about two and a half years ago. As of March 31, the firm has been paid about $417,500.
Member Charles Searcy took exception to Simchick’s interpretation, saying “The fire got lit [to address the desegregation order] when a new board came on; it wasn’t the attorney.”
For this fiscal year, which started in October, the school district budget for legal fees is nearly $1 million, with $300,000 going to the desegregation case.
As of March 31, the district had spent about $452,000 of the million, with nearly $220,000 going to Brown Garganese Weiss & D’Agresta and $150,000 to Husch Blackwell.
Last year the district paid about $740,000 in legal fees. The year before, the tab was nearly $655,000.
