Champaign school board member: Legal bills deserve closer look

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CHAMPAIGN — If the risk management committee pitched by the Unit 4 school board’s two newest members was up and running now, this might not have happened midway through Monday’s meeting:

When it came time for a vote on the bills and treasurer’s report for the month — typically a formality — the lone attorney among the seven members, Betsy Holder, expressed concern over the legal fees the district had racked up in the past year.

From July 2023 to June 2024, the final tally was $224,070.49 — a sizable increase from 2022-23 ($117,178.20) and 2021-22 ($105,856 without work tied to teacher contract negotiations, which isn’t an annual expense).

“Having reviewed the bills in detail, I have some concerns with this last batch of bills as to the authorization of some of those charges,” Holder said, most notably the approximately $7,000 dedicated to replacing two board members who resigned in March and between $5,000 and $10,000 addressing possible violations of the Open Meetings Act.

“I think we need to, as a board, come up with some sort of an accountability measure for when we use board attorneys and what work we tell them to work on because this is a really substantial increase. … That’s just flat taxpayer funds.”

There was no follow-up discussion on the suggestion by Holder, the lone board member who voted against approving the bills Monday night.

The Sam Banks-led, Mark Holm-supported proposal for a district risk management committee will get a closer look, Superintendent Shelia Boozer said Monday night after a back-and-forth among members.

But first, “I need clarity” about the particulars, she added.

Banks, who joined the board last month, said such committees are common among large organizations and would be well-served in Unit 4, as a way to “monitor, plan for and be proactive with the kinds of things that could do harm to the district,” be it related to legal issues, finances, HR, facilities, safety or other issues.