First month with new law firm costs Douglas County schools over $35k

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - When the Douglas County School District fired its long-term legal counsel in July, board members knew there would be an extra cost for new counsel Joey Gilbert due to his higher monthly retainer fee.

"I do not want to fire [Maupin, Cox & LeGoy], I do not want to hire Joey Gilbert," said DCSD Trustee Carey Kangas during that contentious July meeting. "I'm concerned with additional costs, concerned about the transparency of the board, and about the time of the meeting."

Gilbert was hired to replace Maupin, Cox & LeGoy at a retainer of $7,500 per month, above what the former firm charged. The retainer did not cover all of the extra expenses including phone calls to Gilbert by board members, and responding to numerous public records requests mounting up since the new school board was elected in November 2022.

During their September 12 meeting, the board will vote on "Accounts Payable Special and Regular Run Vouchers." In that group of vouchers are ten for Gilbert totaling $35,781.75 from his first month as the District legal counsel. All are dated 8/23/23:

Negotiations - $3,055
General Administration - Retainer $5,720
Inclusive Education - (Due Process and regular sped issues) $877.50
General Administration - Department of the Superintendent Outside of Retainer $10,088.75
General Administration - Retainer $1,235
Public Records Requests - $990
Public Records Requests - $1,365
Public Records Requests - $520
General Administration - Department of the Superintendent Outside of Retainer - $4,430.50
General Administration - Retainer $7,500

The total annual budget for the legal fees for the District is $160,000. If this month's check run is an example of what's to come in the fiscal year, there would be almost $430,000 in legal fees.

The DCSD meeting on Tuesday starts at 4 p.m. and it will be held at Douglas High School's media room and access can be made remotely. Visit the agenda here for more information: https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Organization/1502.