9125 9125Bylaws of the Board
Attorney
The attorney of the Board of Education shall be the legal advisor of the Board and its officers in questions related to their official duties. The Board of Education may appoint, either on a full-time or retainer basis, an attorney or attorneys to serve as school attorney. The primary function of the attorney is to provide professional legal counsel and representation for the Board and Superintendent.
Alternate language: The Board recognizes that the increasing complexity for school district operations frequently requires procurement of professional legal services. Therefore, the Board shall designate an attorney and/or law firm to provide such services on an ongoing basis. The school attorney(s) shall be admitted to practice law in Connecticut. The Board reserves the right to obtain legal services outside of its designated attorney/law firm as deemed appropriate. |
A decision to seek legal advice or assistance on behalf of the District shall normally be made by the Superintendent or Board Chairperson in accordance with Board policy and when an obvious need exists. Such services may also be obtained as a consequence of a formal vote of the Board.
Alternate language: To ensure the prudent and cost-effective use of legal services, the District will limit and designate the persons with the authority to request services or advice from contracted legal counsel. [The persons authorized to confer with and/or seek the legal advice of the Board attorney include the Superintendent or his/her designee, Business Manager, Special Education Director, and Chairperson of the Board.] The Board may authorize a specific member to confer with legal counsel on its behalf. Legal counsel will not be used unnecessarily to make management decisions or to obtain readily available information such as district policies. |
The attorney shall:
1. Represent the Board of Education in legal proceedings.
2. Give his/her written opinion on all legal questions referred to him/her by the Board of Education or the Superintendent.
3. Attend Board of Education meetings, conferences and other meetings as requested by the Board, Superintendent, Board Chairperson or Board committee.
4. Fulfill such other legal duties as the Board of Education may assign.
Alternate language:
Legal services required by the District may include, but not be limited to:
1. Providing general legal advice to the Board and/or administration;
2. Assisting with labor negotiations;
3. Assisting with personnel matters;
4. Assisting with expulsions and other disciplinary matters;
5. Conduct and/or assist with pending or actual litigation involving the District;
6. Other specialized legal services; and
7. Attendance at Board meetings or other activities as appropriate.
The performance of the school attorney(s) shall be subject to annual evaluation by the _____________ Board of Education and the Superintendent. Such evaluation shall include the areas of efficiency and adequacy of advice; results obtained for the District; reasonableness of fees; and responsiveness to and interactions with the Board, administration, and community.
The Board retains the right to terminate the service of any attorney.
Bylaw adopted by the Board: