Special Education Legal Expenses
Special education legal fees for outside counsel for September 2012 totaled
$42,903. The year-to-date total of $74,301 is $3,678 (4.7 percent) lower than
the same period in the previous year. Total year-to-date special education legal
costs of $74,301 are $70,986 (49 percent) lower than the budgeted amount of
$145,287 through September 2012.
The Jeffrey A. Krew bill for September 2012 totaled $42,903 and included work on
six cases, three of which involved administrative hearings ($37,800), three of
which involved appeals to federal or state court ($4,606), and for miscellaneous
charges ($497).
I don't think outside private attorneys are necessary. If you pay for the salaries of in-house attorneys, use them. The present costs could be reduced dramatically by setting time limits attorneys' presentations. In fact, even more monies could be saved by honestly using resolution activities. The battling have financial costs for all parties and the best interest of the child gets lost. The present system involves added meanness, deception, and blaming of the parents to win the case. It is a horrific process!
ReplyDeleteI looked at the hearing decisions for FY12. Of 11 MCPS hearings that resulted in written decisions, MCPS in house attorneys tried exactly TWO of them. What do we have two lawyers for, if they can only try one case apiece per year?
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