FLOW Area October 3, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7 Regional district acts to limit legal costs by Frank J. McMahon The Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education has passed a resolution acknowledging that the school district accrued legal costs in the amount of $80 per pupil, which exceeds 130 percent of the 2010-11 statewide per pupil average of $37. The resolution also points out the procedures and controls it has implemented in an effort to reduce legal costs. In the resolution, the school board claims the excess legal costs incurred are the result of a high volume of litigation, grievances, protracted negotiations, and due process hearings initiated against the district, which the district has been compelled to defend and over which the district has no control. According to the state’s administrative code and the school district’s legal services bylaw, in circumstances where legal costs exceed 130 percent of the statewide average per pupil amount, districts should establish and implement certain procedures and controls enumerated in the administrative code to reduce legal costs. The board’s resolution points out that the district has developed a bylaw that identifies the individuals authorized to initiate contact with the board’s contracted legal counsel, and outlines the procedures the board, through its school business administrator/board secretary, must review and verify all documented legal counsel contracts. The resolution also states that certain procedures and controls enumerated in the administrative code have already been implemented in an effort to reduce legal costs. Those procedures include limiting the number of contact persons with the authority to request services or advice from legal counsel to the superintendent of schools or his or her designee, the school business administrator/board secretary, the board of education president, and the district’s supervisor of special services. “The designated contact person or persons ensure that contracted legal counsel is not used unnecessarily for management decisions or to obtain readily available information contained in district materials such as policies, administrative regulations, or guidance available through professional source materials,” the resolution states. The administrative code also contains a provision that calls for requests for legal advice to be made in writing and maintained on file in the district offices, and a process to be in place to determine whether the request warrants legal advice, or if the legal advice is necessary. The code also contains a provision to maintain a log of all legal counsel contacts including the name of the legal counsel contacted, the date of contact, the issue discussed and length of contact, and legal bills must be compared to the contact log and any variances must be investigated and resolved. The district addressed those additional code requirements, stating that the district recognizes that the legal costs for the 2010-11 fiscal year exceeded the 130 percent figure, but has determined that implementation of the further procedures as outlined in the administrative code beyond those already implemented would not significantly reduce legal costs due to the previously stated reasons. “Vienna!” a classical program performed by Masterwork Conversation will be presented at the Franklin Lakes Library on Sunday, Oct. 21. The 2 p.m. concert is free. In addition to the music, Masterwork Conversation’s Matthew Harrison and Vlada Yaneva will share information about the composers’ lives, aspects of Classical concert announced their creative processes, and other details about the music. The program, which will include works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Ravel, and other grand composers, pays homage to the City of Vienna and the great artists who lived and composed there. The library is located 470 DeKorte Drive. For details, call (201) 891-2224