Charleston schools looking to hire attorney

Charleston County schools' legal bills are so high that officials want to hire a staff attorney to help lower those costs.

The district has spent more than $625,000 on legal fees — the equivalent of nearly 20 first-year teacher salaries — from July through February. It's a significantly higher figure than the $51,000 spent during the same time by Dorchester 2, the Summerville district which is roughly half the size of Charleston. Fees for Berkeley County schools weren't immediately available.

"It looks excessive to me," said board member Arthur Ravenel Jr. "I just feel it would be good for us to have our own attorney."

Some of the areas where the district spent the most money included personnel matters, construction contracts, special education and charter schools.

Schools Superintendent Nancy McGinley agrees that it would be good to have an in-house attorney, a position the district once had but cut years ago. Officials need legal advice on a variety of issues, and error on the district's part could cost more money in the long run, she said. Every call the district makes to its legal counsel is billed, she said.

"I'd much rather put money into the classroom rather than spend it on legal fees," she said.

She estimates that it would cost about $200,000 to hire an attorney, an administrative assistant and necessary legal reference material. The district still would have to use to local firms for specialized cases, she said.

Read more in tomorrow's editions of The Post and Courier.