The Douglas County School District Offices are located in the historic Minden school house on Mono Avenue.
The Douglas County School Board is expected to discuss the possibility of obtaining in-house general counsel during the board meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Airport Training Center.
“In light of the increasing complexity of legal issues facing the school district including, but not limited to compliance to educational regulations, inclusive education, public records requests, inter-local agreements, contract negotiations, and personnel matters, the need for dedicated legal counsel has become evident,” according to the agenda.
As stated in the agenda, the in-house counsel will provide legal counsel to the superintendent of schools and staff.
Currently, legal counsel for the Douglas County School district is outsourced, with Joey Gilbert Law since June 2023, which has cost the district over $400,00 in 12 months.
In-house counsel is generally more cost effective for routine and predictable legal needs than outsourcing to expensive law firms and they normally do not represent the board of directors, principal officers, or other individuals, even though those individuals act on behalf of the corporation.
It is unknown at this time whether if obtaining in-house counsel would replace current legal counsel or if both would be used.
The Record-Courier reached out the Superintendent Frankie Alvarado on Thursday, but he was unavailable for comment.
Discussion about legal counsel, their responsibilities and whom they report to has been a topic during the school board meetings for over a year.
Most recently during the Aug. 13 school board meeting when the board discussed a protocol for identifying specific needs in contacting legal counsel, and designating a point of contact to engage with legal counsel, while still providing individual board members access to legal counsel if there is a personal need that affects their role as a board member.
The proposal was tabled for a future meeting, in which more information would be brought back for further discussion.
It is unknown, whether that discussion prompted the search for in-house counsel.
Visit https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1502?meeting=657171 for more information and more agenda items for Tuesday’s meeting.
