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Wyandanch board unanimously hires outside counsel and authorizes litigation over NYSED regionalization rules
Summary
The Wyandanch Union Free School District board voted 5-0 to retain outside counsel and authorized litigation seeking to annul or modify New York State Education Department emergency rules on regionalization; the board also met in executive session to confer with its attorney.
The Wyandanch Union Free School District Board of Education voted unanimously to retain outside counsel and to authorize litigation challenging New York State Education Department emergency rules on regionalization.
At a special meeting, the presiding board officer said the district would "retain the firm Regano LLC as special counsel regarding the New York State Education Department emergency rule regarding regionalization" and authorized the board president to execute a retainer. The resolution specifies that the retainer is "at no cost to the district," that legal fees will be shared equally by the firm's school-district clients, and that the school attorney will serve as the district's liaison to the firm.
The board's second resolution authorized retained counsel to "commence litigation by complaint or Article 78 petition" in an appropriate court against the New York State Education Department, the Board of Regents, the chancellor and other parties identified by counsel, "to seek to annul, modify, and or amend the rules," and to pursue costs, attorney fees, declaratory relief and injunctive relief. The motion passed by voice vote, recorded as 5-0-0.
The board began the evening by explaining that the purpose of the special meeting was to address "the current regionalization plans that have been executed by [the New York State] Department of Education," and moved into executive session to discuss those plans with attorney Nick Redano; the public record notes the board standing in executive session at 5:38 p.m.
The resolutions include a contingency that litigation be pursued where proceedings have individual taxpayers as petitioners; the board also directed the school attorney to coordinate with the retained firm. No timetable for filing was given in the meeting record, and the board did not identify which outside clients would share legal fees.
The board approved both resolutions without recorded roll-call names beyond the unanimous voice tallies. After the votes the meeting proceeded to a brief procedural item and adjournment.
