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Richland 1 approves contingency counsel for PowerSchool breach, hires teachers and appoints coordinator; board adopts consent items
Summary
On Feb. 25 the Richland 1 board retained contingency counsel for a PowerSchool data breach, approved hiring six teachers and appointed a coordinator of special projects; the consent agenda passed and the board adopted a change to future meeting start times.
The Richland 1 School District Board of Commissioners approved several administrative actions at its Feb. 25 meeting.
PowerSchool legal representation The board voted to retain attorney William Shunoff of the France Law Group on a contingency basis to pursue remedies related to the PowerSchool data breach. Dr. Richardson presented the recommendation; Commissioner Bishop moved the motion, seconded by Commissioner Devine. The board approved the contingency contract 5-1. The administration said the representation carries no cost to the district unless successful recovery occurs.
Hiring and appointments The administration recommended and the board approved hiring six teachers for the 2024–25 school year. The hiring motion carried unanimously. Dr. Kumis told commissioners that, after hiring these candidates, the district would have 38 teacher vacancies remaining.
The board approved an administrative appointment recommending that D.W. (initials used in the public record) be named coordinator of special projects in Human Resource Services for the 2024–25 school year. That appointment passed unanimously.
Consent agenda and other procedural actions The board adopted the consent agenda, including minutes from recent meetings and the January 2025 financial report, by a 6-0 vote.
Change to meeting start time Chair Dana Lomenak moved to change the public start time for regular board meetings from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. for the remainder of the fiscal year through June 30; Commissioner Moore seconded. The board approved the change 6-0. Lomenak said the change is intended to increase predictability, allow votes on entering/exiting executive session to occur in public, and to give staff more flexibility to go home earlier on meeting nights.
Votes at a glance - Retain France Law Group (PowerSchool breach): mover Commissioner Bishop; second Commissioner Devine; vote: 5 yays, 1 no; outcome: approved. - Hire six teachers for 2024–25: mover Commissioner Bishop (motion to approve consent/hiring); vote: 6-0; outcome: approved; district vacancies reported after approval: 38 teachers. - Appointment of D.W., coordinator of special projects: mover Commissioner Hersey; second Commissioner Devine; vote: 6-0; outcome: approved. - Consent agenda (minutes and January 2025 financial report): vote: 6-0; outcome: approved. - Change regular meeting public start time to 6:00 p.m. through June 30: mover Chair Dana Lomenak; second Commissioner Moore; vote: 6-0; outcome: approved.
The board record shows these administrative and procedural matters passed with clear majorities except for the PowerSchool counsel vote, which was 5-1. Individual roll-call votes were not recorded in the public transcript for every member on each item; where a single dissent occurred the transcript did not name the dissenting member.
