A recent Douglas County School Board meeting saw intense discussions, accusations, and contentious exchanges surrounding the legal fees of newly hired Reno-based attorney Joey Gilbert for his inaugural month of service.
Gilbert, hired to help halt a push to force the district to teach diversity, equity, and inclusion, including a transexual and gay and lesbian sex component to students, faced some members who were thwarted by the majority as they tried to stop Gilbert’s hiring.
Invoices presented by Trustees Linda Gilkerson and Carey Kangas revealed that Gilbert billed the board approximately $35,000, surpassing his agreed-upon monthly retainer of $7,500. Also at issue is the nature of the billed services.
Among the invoices was over $21,000 attributed to work carried out by Kiera Sears, an employee of Gilbert’s law firm, who played a significant role in research, policy drafting, and billing activities during the month. Of particular concern was the billing rate for Sears, set at $325 per hour, a price tag typically reserved for licensed lawyers. While Sears possesses a law degree, she lacks current licensing to practice law in the state.
Gilkerson also questioned the necessity of billing thousands for researching the Open Meeting Law (OML), a topic she believed should be well-known to board members.
Gilkerson also contended that Gilbert’s contract was neither approved nor voted on by the entire board, and many members had not even seen the final contract. Allegations also came to light about removing Superintendent Keith Lewis’s signature line from the agreement.
Some trustees called for a renegotiation of Gilbert’s contract and a pause on his expenses until proper negotiations could happen. However, a majority of board members voted to approve Gilbert’s expenses.
Can anyone else see the apparent obfuscation?
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