Hazel Park board declines to enter closed session amid dispute over law-firm invoice and retention

The Hazel Park Board of Education on Jan. 22 voted against a motion to recess into closed session to discuss an attorney-client matter, amid disputes about an invoice and whether a law firm had been retained before the board authorized counsel.

The motion to move into closed session “under section 1(h) to consider material exempt from discussion or disclosure by State and Federal statute — attorney-client privilege,” was made by Trustee Fortress and seconded by Trustee LaFromboise. The board clerk announced the tally as 4 to 3; the motion therefore failed and the board did not enter closed session.

Trustees spent much of the public portion debating the circumstances that led to the special meeting. Several trustees said an invoice from Truen Law Firm was dated Jan. 2, before the board’s organizational meeting and before any single board member had been given authority to secure counsel on the board’s behalf. Trustees said the invoice’s date, the firm’s apparent retention,…