Special Douglas County School board meeting Wednesday to consider change of legal counsel

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - The Douglas County School Board is holding a special meeting on Wednesday to discuss terminating the contract with its long-time counsel Maupin, Cox & LeGoy. In their place, the Board is going to discuss hiring the Joey Gilbert Law Firm.

Maupin, Cox & LeGoy has been providing legal support to school districts across the state for over 40 years. Their specialized practice in education law has assisted various education-related clients, including Nevada public school districts and boards of school trustees, public charter schools, and private schools throughout the State of Nevada.

The current legal representatives have been serving Douglas County since 1995. Since 2014, Maupin, Cox & LeGoy has had the same contract in place with Douglas County, at a low rate that hasn't gone up over the years - $5 per month as a retainer, $225 per hour for services. The firm's representative Rick Hsu told the board that these low fees have been out of loyalty, but if the contract is terminated and they are rehired later, the low fees would not be considered again.

Gilbert's contract under consideration Wednesday is for $7,500 per month as a retainer and $325 per hour additionally. His website says his team specializes in DUIs, personal injuries, immigration law, estate planning, defense, and business law and there is no mention of educational law expertise.

The agenda item in question was brought forward by School Board President Susan Jansen on June 13. She said she had a lack of trust in Maupin, Cox & LeGoy's ability to represent the board well with open meeting laws, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and guidance on making motions. Jansen does not have support from the full board but may have enough votes to go with Gilbert.

School Superintendent Keith Lewis has asked the board to not terminate the contract of Maupin, Cox & LeGoy. The superintendent's position, along with that of the human resources director, works closely with the district's legal counsel.

Hsu said they have represented the district in numerous areas including the sale of Kingsbury Middle School, the realignment of Douglas High School football under the NIAA, labor disputes, risk management, employee terminations, and other litigations.

Representing school districts is not an easy task and is a job that requires expertise in many complex state and federal laws, special education laws, IDEA, Section 504, ADA, Family Educational Rights Privacy Act, Title 9, Chapters 386-393, Open Meeting Law, Public Records Act, ethics laws, Local Government Employee Management Reactions Act and more, explained Hsu.

Gilbert ran for governor and lost in the Republican primary in 2022 to Joe Lombardo and sued, asking for a recount and asking the judge to consider ordering another election entirely with paper ballots. He was ordered to pay $161,000 in attorneys fees to Lombardo over the failed election challenge, on top of nearly $88,000 in sanctions.

Gilbert also applied for an open trustee position (District E) on the Washoe County School Board in November. He was one of seven applicants. Gilbert failed to garner enough points from board members because trustees said he did not include a resume as part of his application, an allegation Gilbert's representative denied.

The special board meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 19 at 10 a.m. in the Douglas High School Media Room. It will also be on zoom - https://dcsd-k12.zoom.us/j/87954972471 Passcode: Jul2023 Telephone: Dial +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Webinar ID: 879 5497 2471 Telephone Passcode: 2282538. For the agenda, visit https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Organization/1502.