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Hazel Park board approves Allen Law Group investigation, moves closed-session and amends agenda
Summary
The Hazel Park Board of Education voted to hire Allen Law Group to investigate alleged board policy violations at $250 an hour capped at $7,500, approved a change to the meeting agenda to hear public comment before closed session, and recessed into a closed session under the Open Meetings Act.
The Hazel Park Board of Education voted to hire the Allen Law Group to investigate alleged board policy violations and authorized the firmto charge $250 per hour with a spending cap of $7,500.
The action came after the board amended the agenda to move the closed session to follow public comment and before new business. Board member Heidi moved to approve the agenda change and Debbie seconded. Board member Heidi then moved to appoint the Allen Law Group; Monica seconded that motion.
The board recessed into closed session under the Open Meetings Act, citing section 8 1 h for attorney-client privileged material, following a separate roll-call vote.
Why it matters: The Allen Law Group appointment creates a limited, paid fact-finding role into alleged board policy violations and sets a near-term cap on outside legal spending for that investigation. Moving the closed session so public comment was heard in open session responded to public requests to avoid having community members wait through a closed session.
Details of the votes and motions
- Motion to amend the agenda to move closed session after public comments and before new business: moved by Board member Heidi; seconded by Debbie. Roll-call shown in the transcript recorded affirmative votes from Fortress, Laframboise, Beaton, Becker, Fox, Ritchie (recorded as Rithee/Rithee), and Hinton. The motion passed.
- Motion to recess to closed session under Open Meetings Act, section 8 1 h (attorney-client privileged material): moved by Board member Heidi; seconded by Debbie. Roll-call recorded affirmative votes from Fortress, LaFromboise, Beaton, Becker, Fox, Ritchie (recorded as Rithee) and Hinton. The motion passed.
- Motion to approve appointment of Allen Law Group to conduct a fact-finding investigation at $250 per hour with a $7,500 cap: moved by Board member Heidi; seconded by Monica. Roll-call recorded affirmative votes from Fortress, Prachee, Beaton, Becker, Fox, (a name recorded as) LaFerrari Boys and Hinton. The motion passed.
What the motions do and do not do
The Allen Law Group engagement was described as a fact-finding investigation of alleged board policy violations; the board set an hourly rate and a total cap. The board did not publish (in the meeting record) a detailed scope of work in open session beyond designating the engagement as an investigation of alleged board policy violations. The closed session vote invoked attorney-client privilege; the transcript shows the board received legal guidance before returning to open session.
Ending
After the votes, the board returned to open session and proceeded to new-business discussion items. The meeting record does not show additional public-release materials tied to the Allen Law Group scope beyond the motion approved in open session.
