Bentonville District's Legal Costs Double Expectations

BENTONVILLE -- The School District's fiscal year was an unexpectedly expensive one when it came to legal costs.

The district paid $119,689 for legal services between July 1, 2013, and June 30, according to Marshall Ney, the district's lead attorney. That's more than double the $52,000 the district originally budgeted and more than what it spent on legal services the previous two years combined.

The largest portion of those costs was $68,103 for work in response to three complaints filed by Theresa Caldwell, a Little Rock lawyer. Caldwell's complaints are related to the district's treatment of special-education students.

Michael Poore, superintendent, said the district has determined to fight those complaints and has gone to court on three cases.

"So when you look at those fees and think about what a trial means, that's incorporated into those costs and the one approach we've taken as a school district is we have not backed off or tried to settle," Poore told the School Board last month.

Mitchell Williams law firm in Rogers has been the district's counsel since January 2013. Ney, who served on the School Board from 2003 to 2011, is the district's main contact with the firm. The district pays $200 an hour for the firm's services.

The legal expenses also included $12,131 for employment issues and $10,000 for board meetings and communication with board members.

Rebecca Powers, board member, said at the last board meeting she was curious about how the bill for board meetings and communication amounted to $10,000. She said she wanted to see itemized bills from the past two years.

Another $5,637 was charged to the district for work related to Poore's new contract. The board decided in February to rework Poore's contract to include specific goals. The board and Poore signed a three-year contract last month.

The cost related to the superintendent's contract likely won't be nearly as much next year, said Sterling Ming, finance director.

"On most years when it's a renewal, it's really just a rollover and it just requires a change of date," Ming said.

The district spent $5,355 related to Freedom of Information Act requests. Special-education matters cost $4,517 in legal services.

The district also spent $3,185 for legal costs related to the aquatics facility agreement with the city of Bentonville. Under that agreement, the district will pay the city $1 million for permanent first-priority access to a city-owned indoor pool.

Grant Lightle, board vice president and a lawyer, said he was a little surprised the legal expenses weren't higher considering everything the district has been through the past year.

The only recent fiscal year that rivals the past fiscal year in legal costs was 2011, when the district paid $115,737. An employment issue was the main reason for the high cost that year, Poore said.

"We have dropped on legal fees then during my first two years (as superintendent)," he said. "This year, of course, the numbers have gone up dramatically."