Post by gatordog on Jun 26, 2008 12:37:33 GMT -5
Other SD's have issues with lawsuits too...at least our active SD blogs managed to stay out of the legal fray 
Proviso district pays school chief's legal fees
Law firm alleges defamation, sues board president over comments posted on blog
By Jo Napolitano | Tribune reporter
11:37 PM CDT, June 23, 2008
A west suburban school board is paying $22,000 in legal fees to defend its president in a lawsuit alleging he made defamatory comments about the district's former law firm on a blog.
Proviso Township High School District 209 President Chris Welch is accused of making the comments about Odelson & Sterk on the "Proviso Insider" (provisoinsider.blogspot.com). The blog comments on acts of the township and school board but is not affiliated with either.
The law firm denies the allegations, which have since been removed from the site.
Welch, a lawyer, confirmed he is one of several contributors to the blog, but he said he did not post the statements for which he is being sued.
School board member Theresa Kelly said the district should not be paying.
"You don't do this to the taxpayers," she said. "How can [Welch] feel that the school is liable? Why should the taxpayers have to pay for his mistakes? It's an injustice."
Kelly filed a complaint with Charles Flowers, regional superintendent of schools and a former Proviso school board member, and Flowers said he passed it along to the Cook County state's attorney's office.
Flowers said the suit appears to be a personal one, and having the district pay "does not speak to good fiscal management."
An attorney for the school district said the district's practice is to reimburse the legal fees for board members "when damages are sought for negligent or wrongful acts allegedly committed during the scope of employment or under the direction of the Board of Education."
Kelly said contributing to the blog was not part of Welch's duties as school board president, but rather something he chose to do on his own time.
The board's vote does not include future legal fees or any fines or settlement money Welch could be required to pay. A spokeswoman for the district said the board may vote on these issues as they arise.
The school district was not named in the lawsuit, but a law clerk at Welch's firm was listed as a defendant.
Welch said he would not answer questions at the heart of the lawsuit and would not say if contributing to the blog was part of his duties as board president, although he compared his posts to appearing in a newspaper story or a radio interview.
"Blogs are effective tools of communication," he said. "Many people are involved in blogs. Chris Welch is no exception."
Welch called his service as board president "a 24-hour-a-day job." He said that he has been sued three times before and that his legal fees were covered by the district on each occasion.
Welch said the district fired Odelson & Sterk in 2007 because of billing issues.
"They are bullies who like to throw their political influence around," he said.
In fact, Welch has filed a suit of his own against the firm, alleging the attorneys put pressure on his former employer to try to convince Welch that the board shouldn't dismiss Odelson & Sterk.
Welch said in the suit that his former employer fired him after the school board went through with firing Odelson & Sterk.
Welch dismissed comments from Flowers and Kelly as pure politics and looks forward to defending himself in court. He said he has rejected a $750,000 settlement offer.
Board member Robert Cox, who voted to pay the fees, said he believes the school district could be dragged into the case in the future.
"I would be vehemently opposed to using district money to protect an individual in a frivolous suit, but it's not so clear-cut when you're on the board level," Cox said.
Board member Dan Adams agreed, saying that he believed Welch was being sued because he is a school board president and that the district should pick up the tab.
Kelly said the school district is on the state's financial watch list and can't afford to pay Welch's bills. But, she said, Welch has tremendous influence over the board.
"They always do what he wants them to do, right or wrong," she said. "Even at the meeting, I stressed to them before they voted to please consider what is going on here . . . because this is just not right. They did it anyway."
Proviso district pays school chief's legal fees
Law firm alleges defamation, sues board president over comments posted on blog
By Jo Napolitano | Tribune reporter
11:37 PM CDT, June 23, 2008
A west suburban school board is paying $22,000 in legal fees to defend its president in a lawsuit alleging he made defamatory comments about the district's former law firm on a blog.
Proviso Township High School District 209 President Chris Welch is accused of making the comments about Odelson & Sterk on the "Proviso Insider" (provisoinsider.blogspot.com). The blog comments on acts of the township and school board but is not affiliated with either.
The law firm denies the allegations, which have since been removed from the site.
Welch, a lawyer, confirmed he is one of several contributors to the blog, but he said he did not post the statements for which he is being sued.
School board member Theresa Kelly said the district should not be paying.
"You don't do this to the taxpayers," she said. "How can [Welch] feel that the school is liable? Why should the taxpayers have to pay for his mistakes? It's an injustice."
Kelly filed a complaint with Charles Flowers, regional superintendent of schools and a former Proviso school board member, and Flowers said he passed it along to the Cook County state's attorney's office.
Flowers said the suit appears to be a personal one, and having the district pay "does not speak to good fiscal management."
An attorney for the school district said the district's practice is to reimburse the legal fees for board members "when damages are sought for negligent or wrongful acts allegedly committed during the scope of employment or under the direction of the Board of Education."
Kelly said contributing to the blog was not part of Welch's duties as school board president, but rather something he chose to do on his own time.
The board's vote does not include future legal fees or any fines or settlement money Welch could be required to pay. A spokeswoman for the district said the board may vote on these issues as they arise.
The school district was not named in the lawsuit, but a law clerk at Welch's firm was listed as a defendant.
Welch said he would not answer questions at the heart of the lawsuit and would not say if contributing to the blog was part of his duties as board president, although he compared his posts to appearing in a newspaper story or a radio interview.
"Blogs are effective tools of communication," he said. "Many people are involved in blogs. Chris Welch is no exception."
Welch called his service as board president "a 24-hour-a-day job." He said that he has been sued three times before and that his legal fees were covered by the district on each occasion.
Welch said the district fired Odelson & Sterk in 2007 because of billing issues.
"They are bullies who like to throw their political influence around," he said.
In fact, Welch has filed a suit of his own against the firm, alleging the attorneys put pressure on his former employer to try to convince Welch that the board shouldn't dismiss Odelson & Sterk.
Welch said in the suit that his former employer fired him after the school board went through with firing Odelson & Sterk.
Welch dismissed comments from Flowers and Kelly as pure politics and looks forward to defending himself in court. He said he has rejected a $750,000 settlement offer.
Board member Robert Cox, who voted to pay the fees, said he believes the school district could be dragged into the case in the future.
"I would be vehemently opposed to using district money to protect an individual in a frivolous suit, but it's not so clear-cut when you're on the board level," Cox said.
Board member Dan Adams agreed, saying that he believed Welch was being sued because he is a school board president and that the district should pick up the tab.
Kelly said the school district is on the state's financial watch list and can't afford to pay Welch's bills. But, she said, Welch has tremendous influence over the board.
"They always do what he wants them to do, right or wrong," she said. "Even at the meeting, I stressed to them before they voted to please consider what is going on here . . . because this is just not right. They did it anyway."