LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - A Gretna law firm the Lafayette Parish School Board hired to investigate Superintendent Pat Cooper turned in its notice - about a week after starting work on the case.
The Advocate reports (https://bit.ly/1rNMuMX) attorney Michael Fanning, of the Grant & Barrow law firm, in an April 23 letter to the board’s attorney, Bob Hammonds, cited a lack of time needed to conduct the investigation.
The development is yet another kink in the board’s attempts to hire attorneys. It is in the process of hiring new general counsel after relieving the District Attorney’s Office as its general counsel in November.
The board waited until February to appoint Hammonds’ law firm as its interim general counsel.
Its search for general counsel only recently got underway, and the board’s search committee has set a tentative deadline of July to name potential candidates.
Now, it appears, they’ll also need to search for new special counsel, the role the Grant & Barrow firm was to have played.
Board President Hunter Beasley said Tuesday the board’s next step is to decide whether it wants to go forward with the investigation and hire new special counsel.
Fanning’s withdrawal comes about a week after he submitted a public records request to Cooper.
Cooper said Tuesday that he was surprised by the withdrawal notice since his staff spent the past few days fulfilling the request and had turned over all the requested information.
“We’ve spent a lot of time collecting all this information and we plan to bill for our time, so whether they’re going to follow-through with it or not, they’re going to owe us some money,” Cooper said.
The board’s resolution to investigate Cooper never specified the reasons for an investigation.
However, the request came after some board members questioned Cooper’s decision not to terminate the employment of Thad Welch, a special assistant to the superintendent for maintenance, transportation, grounds and facilities after it was discovered that Welch lacked the required high school education specified for the position.
Cooper has maintained that a new state law, enacted in July 2012, gives him authority over personnel decisions. The board reprimanded Cooper in April 2013 over Welch’s hiring.
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Information from: The Advocate, https://theadvocate.com
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