Montgomery Co Board of Ed Pays $71,846 in May to Outside Lawyer to Fight Families of Special Needs Children

Special Education Legal Expenses

Memo from Jack R Smith, Superintendent of Schools, August 25, 2016


Special education legal fees for outside counsel for May 2016 totaled $71,846. The year-to-date
total of $370,078 is $125,454 (51.3 percent) more than the same period in the previous year.
In addition, total year-to-date special education legal costs of $370,078 are $70,974 (16.1 percent)
less than the budgeted amount of $441,052 through this time period.
The Jeffrey A. Krew bill for May 2016 totaled $71,846.
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Obviously the "new procedures" to review special education legal expenses that were touted by Board of Education member Jill Ortman-Fouse either (1) don't exist or (2) don't work. This amount of money, $71,846, does not even include the cost of maintaining the so-called "Resolution and Compliance" unit. Nor does it include the cost of the fleet of in-house lawyers to whom MCPS already pays salaries and benefits.

The Month of May 2016 represents the highest monthly total for outside special education attorney fees in the 2015-2016 fiscal year. Can't blame new Superintendent Smith for this one, as it occurred before he was employed by MCPS. The special education community will be watching this and future Board meetings to see if Mr. Smith expresses any concern about what these payments represent. Let's hope he does.