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June 16, 2008

The Birmingham Board of Education refuses even to ask if other law firms might charge less than it pays now for legal services.

The Birmingham News:

Thinking about running for the Birmingham Board of Education next year? (And we're hoping a lot of people are.)

School board members offered up a nicely gift-wrapped campaign issue for opponents to run with.

Amazingly, the school board rejected a document last week requesting bids on legal services. Instead, the board will stay with the two, expensive, outside law firms it has used for a dozen years: Waldrep, Stewart and Kendrick; and Thomas, Means, Gillis and Seay.

Even with all the financial troubles the city school system is having, this wasn't even a close vote. By 6-2, the board turned back a document that would request - only request, mind you - proposals from other law firms.

Just asking for other proposals shouldn't be difficult for the school board - if it truly has the best interests of city taxpayers and the school system's future in mind.

The legal fees the system pays are out of line with anything reasonable, especially when you look at what other school systems pay for legal services. Last year, Birmingham paid $108 per student in legal fees, by far the highest in the state. Second-place Anniston spent just under $57 per student.

Wonder if steep legal fees are an unfortunate characteristic of the metropolitan area? Not if one considers Jefferson County's legal spending. During the same period the Birmingham school board was forking over $3 million-plus in fees and lawsuit settlements, the Jefferson County system, with thousands more students, was paying about one-sixth that amount.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at June 16, 2008 4:33 AM
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