Bill adds up for defending board members in ouster case

The school board wanted a lawyer who wouldn't be intimidated, a board member said.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- The school district has spent $16,125 so far in legal fees to defend the attempted ouster of three board members
According to the most recent figures available through June, the district has paid for 107.5 hours of legal work billed by the Cleveland law firm of Armstrong, Mitchell, Damiani & amp; Zaccagnini.
Board member Jane Harris suggested Thursday that the $16,125 may double when the accounting is done.
On Tuesday, visiting Judge Mitchell Shaker ruled in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court there wasn't enough evidence to remove Harris, Jamie DeVore and Richard Ragozine from the board for gross neglect of duty.
The crux of the case was an allegation by the Girard Concerned Parents and 1,600 petitioners that the three were aware of a health hazard in Girard Intermediate School for months before closing the building in May 2001.
Reviewing the law firm's billings, it's difficult to determine how much may actually have been spent by the district on the board removal case because Armstrong, Mitchell does all the district's legal work.
In the April-through-June billing, the hours for the board case aren't listed individually.
Cost of defense
The firm has informed the district treasurer's office, however, that $16,125 has been paid through June.
Atty. Sebastian Rucci did his work for the citizens group for free.
Kathy Ross, group president, said it was her understanding the cost to the city would exceed $100,000, but she came to that conclusion after reviewing only the checks paid to the board's law firm for all services, not the actual bills just for the removal case.
Ross said the board could have used the county prosecutor's office to defend it.
"We wanted somebody who was not involved in the case politically," Harris said of the decision to hire Armstrong, Mitchell.
"We wanted somebody who wasn't influenced," she said, noting the private firm "wouldn't be intimidated."
"This should never have gone to court in the first place," Harris said, adding the legal cost and energy to defend it could have gone toward education.
"These people owe the kids every cent we paid out," Harris asserted. "We lay this cost at their feet."
"These people had their own agenda. They wanted power and didn't get it," she remarked.
Ross defended her position.
"I believed in what I was doing. What was I supposed to do? I believed in what I did and still do," Ross said.
She said high carbon dioxide levels remain at the intermediate school and urged parents and staff to contact board members or the city health department if they have concerns.
Harris pointed out the district has two unresolved lawsuits over the intermediate school.
yovich@vindy.com