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Beaufort County board hires outside counsel for student-discipline appeals
Summary
The Beaufort County Board of Education approved an engagement letter with Duff Freeman Lyon to advise on student-discipline expulsion appeals; the motion passed with one no vote and one abstention after questions about the district's attorney list.
The Beaufort County Board of Education on June 25 approved hiring the law firm Duff Freeman Lyon to provide legal advice on student disciplinary expulsion appeals and authorized the board chair to sign the engagement letter.
Vice chair Colonel Guyer moved the engagement, and Mr. Dallas seconded the motion. During discussion, board member Mr. Smith asked whether the firm was on the district's previously established list of approved attorneys, saying, “I was just wondering if this attorney named was on the list.” Superintendent Rodriguez replied that the five-year-old list is out of date and that some lawyers on it have retired or now represent district employees, making the list unusable. After the discussion the board approved the engagement with all votes in favor except one no and one abstention; the motion carried.
The motion authorizes the board to use Duff Freeman Lyon for disciplinary-expulsion appeals and permits the chair to sign the engagement letter on behalf of the district. The board did not alter the existing list of approved attorneys during the meeting; the superintendent said a refreshed process will be needed for future selections.
The board returned to other agenda items after the vote; no additional action on legal representation was recorded.
