Shane Wolk said he intends to resign his seat on the Jefferson R-7 Board of Education due to health concerns, effective Sept. 30, and if he does, it could end the board’s three-month-long 3-3 stalemate over the payment of $31,841.50 in legal bills.
The bills in question involve the Tueth Keeney law firm in Clayton, which worked with the board extensively during Superintendent Clint Johnston’s recent leave of absence.
Johnston went on paid administrative leave following the board’s April 16 meeting, and returned on June 8. During that time, and in the weeks following, the district incurred two separate bills: one dated June 4 for 126.8 hours professional services totaling $27,262 and the other dated July 9 for 18.90 hours totaling $4,063.50.
The invoices show most of the hours billed were for phone and email consultations with board members, research and drafting responses to Sunshine Law requests, preparing communications between the board and the community and attending closed-session board meetings, of which there were six during Johnston’s absence. The two bills were presented for payment at the July 24 school board meeting.
Attached to the bills was a memo of concern signed by Johnston.
“Given that I am not aware that the Jefferson R-VII School District has a contract or an engagement letter with this law firm, I feel that this bill is in conflict with MO Statute 432.070 RSMo (Requirements of Contracts),” the memo said.
“Therefore, I want this memo to be included with the bills for a matter of record regarding the payment thereof.”
Board president Wayne Surratt and members Natalie Fallert and Heather Schnitzler voted to pay the bills, while members Kelly Becherer, Jimmy Jackson and Shane Wolk voted against paying them.
Immediately after the motion failed because there was no majority, Surratt moved to reconsider the motion.
A heated discussion culminated in Surratt saying he would “never cast another affirmative vote to pay a bill until this bill is paid,” but when the vote was called, the result was the same – a 3-3 vote and failure to pass.
At issue is whether the bill is legitimately the board’s responsibility, since the school district did not have a contract with Tueth Keeney at the time the firm was first used in April.
Surratt and Fallert say a contract isn’t necessary to hire a law firm in an emergency situation.
“We are not out of compliance,” Fallert said.
The opposing side maintains that the situation did not fall under the “emergency” definition.
“It was eight weeks,” Johnston said. “At what point is it no longer an emergency matter, and it becomes ongoing services?”
During several board meetings held in April and May, former board president Becherer repeatedly said hiring Tueth Keeney was “improper legal representation.”
“We already have a law firm under contract,” he said then. “I do not believe this is right.”
The Thurman Law Firm in Hillsboro, with which the district has a letter of engagement, has handled the district’s legal duties for nearly a decade, Johnston said. The district also has had a letter of engagement since 2013 with the Mickes law firm.
At the July 24 meeting, after Surratt urged him to change his vote, Becherer said, “I stated back in April, when I voted against it, that (hiring Tueth Keeney) was wrong. I didn’t agree with it then, and I don’t agree with it now. I’m not going to change my vote.”
The seven-member board has been operating a member short since July 24, when Tracey Perry was placed under a temporary restraining order enjoining her from participation in board activities until a conflict of interest suit the Missouri Attorney General filed against her is resolved.
Perry was not present at the July, August or September meetings.
An additional bill from Tueth Keeney, dated Aug. 7 for 2.4 hours totaling $516, was added to the August meeting agenda. The motion to pay all three bills failed to pass in the same 3-3 vote as the previous month.
Surratt urged the three who voted no to change their minds.
“We will undoubtedly pay this bill in the end,” he said. “If you choose to vote no, this bill will double.
“If Mrs. Perry is finally removed from this board, we will have a six-person board, and the vote on this issue will set the tone for the months ahead. If you want to set a tone of collaboration and moving forward, then let’s pay this and move forward.”
The bills came up again on the September meeting agenda, and again the motion to pay them failed after a 3-3 vote. Two district residents spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, urging the board not to pay the bills.
“It wasn’t done right, and it shouldn’t be the responsibility of the taxpayers to pay the cost,” one said.
Wolk, who was elected in April, submitted a letter to the R-7 school board on Sept. 18 announcing his plan to resign from the board.
His resignation would alter the balance of power on the board, and if the legal bills are presented yet again for payment at the October meeting, the vote may end the months-long stalemate.