District hired outside law firm

The financially strapped Clark County School District paid a national law firm $8,875 for representation in an unfair labor complaint made by its administrators union, a district official said Wednesday.

The law firm, Littler Mendelson which claims on its website to be the nation’s largest law firm for representing management in labor disputes, had responded to the union complaint by attacking the group’s legitimacy.

The district and the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-technical Employees made peace earlier this month after both the union’s unfair labor complaint and the district’s counterclaim were dropped as part of a new agreement for the 2010-11 fiscal year beginning July 1.

In the withdrawn complaint, which was filed with the Local Government Employee-Management Relations Board, the union questioned the fairness of awarding new perks and benefits totaling $100,000 to five top executives who report to Superintendent Walt Rulffes.

They are: Deputy Superintendent for Support Services Charlene Green, Deputy Superintendent for Instruction Lauren Kohut-Rost, general counsel Bill Hoffman, Chief Human Resources Officer Martha Tittle, and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Weiler.

Because Hoffman was named in the complaint, he “was disqualified from defending the district on this matter and had no choice but to hire outside legal counsel to defend the district,” said district spokesman David Roddy.

In its counterclaim, Littler Mendelson, which has an office in Las Vegas, tried to undermine the legitimacy of the administrators union by contending that it was illegal for the group to represent both managers, such as school principals, and the employees they supervise, such as deans and assistant principals.

Union Executive Director Stephen Augspurger’s response was that the law made exceptions for a “community of interest.” He dismissed the counterclaim as retaliatory action.

Augspurger could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Clark County School Board President Terri Janison said the district has often hired outside counsel when necessary. The money spent on Littler Mendelson was justified, she said.

“It’s unfortunate the school administrators filed the lawsuit against us,” Janison said. “We could have saved the $9,000.”

Kevinn Donovan, a district parent and Democratic candidate for Nevada Assembly District 22, said the five executives could have settled the controversy by agreeing to accept the same financial terms imposed on other administrators.

Donovan said it was “outrageous” that none of the five executives volunteered to give up the perks when School Board member Linda Young sought to renegotiate the contracts.

While the $8,875 in legal fees might not sound like much in light of the district’s $2.1 billion budget, small expenses can quickly add up, Donovan said.

Because of state funding cuts and declining revenue from property taxes, the district had to budget for a $145 million shortfall for 2010-11.

Contact reporter James Haug at jhaug@reviewjournal.com or (702) 799-2922.