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Public commenter questions sharp rise in OCDE legal fees and travel budgets
Summary
During public comment, a resident reviewing OCDE budget documents said legal fees increased dramatically over recent years and urged the board to reduce litigation and to use in‑house counsel; the speaker cited a budget-book legal-fees report and suggested reducing the current year estimate.
A member of the public raised concerns about a sharp increase in legal fees for the Orange County Department of Education during public comment at the Feb. 3 meeting.
"Did you know that legal expenses for the board and superintendent have dramatically increased in the last 6 years?" Steven Smith told the board, citing a legal-fees report in the district's budget book. He said the first five fiscal years listed combined legal fees of $51,600 for the superintendent and the board, while the next six years showed substantially larger figures. Smith said the report listed legal fees of $2,492,800 for the superintendent and $5,344,800 for the board in the later period and questioned what drove the increase.
Smith told the board the current year's budgeted legal amounts showed about $225,000 for the superintendent and $600,000 for the board for a total of $825,000. He urged the board to "drop the lawsuits and corresponding get out of the litigation business, and devote more time to improving education in Orange County," and suggested that the district use its in‑house legal staff — which he said includes five attorneys, a paralegal and two legal secretaries — and specifically referenced "the new general counsel" Greg Rowland by name.
The speaker framed his remarks as recommendations and did not present documentary evidence beyond referencing the budget book's legal-fees page; no board response or action was taken during public comment. The board proceeded to other agenda items after the public-comments period.
