Board questions 50% increase to outside counsel contract; chief legal officer explains readiness rationale

Commissioner(s) pulled item 18.01 — a contract-amendment request for outside counsel Carney Callahan — to ask about a roughly 50% increase in the proposed dollar amount. Josh Sivan, the district’s chief legal officer, addressed the board on Jan. 20 and said the amendment is intended to ensure the district can access outside counsel quickly for time-sensitive matters such as special-education due-process hearings and student-discipline cases.

Sivan said Carney Callahan has provided a range of services for several years and the office monitors outside-counsel costs closely. He told the board the increase is “merely to make sure that we're well poised in the event that we need services on a rapid basis” and that the firm has supported the district on special-education and other school-related matters.

After the explanation, the board approved the remaining consent agenda items. The transcript does not record a separate final vote on item 18.01 in the public portion captured here; the item had been pulled so the board could hear the explanation and then moved forward with the other consent items.

Clarifying details provided in the discussion: the contract in question is with outside counsel Carney Callahan; the amendment represents about a 50% increase (as raised by a board member); Chief Legal Officer Josh Sivan said the increase is intended to ensure rapid-response capacity for student-related legal needs. The approval status of the specific amendment (18.01) was not specified in the public transcript excerpt.