Livingston School Board contracts with law firm
LIVINGSTON — The Livingston Parish School Board voted Thursday to hire a specialized law firm to help the system adjudicate certain disciplinary cases.
The 9-0 vote came after Superintendent Bill Spear recommended the board authorize the hiring of the Hammonds & Sills law firm of Baton Rouge and Monroe.
The move would give the School Board specialized assistance in dealing with discipline of special education students, Spear said.
Those discipline cases sometimes require a hearing at which the school system needs legal counsel, Spear said. The system has three pending cases in which such hearings appear likely, Spear said.
Hammonds & Sills paralegal Pam DeLaune puts on a seminar for school administrators every year in dealing with such cases, Spear said.
In addition, the move would save the School Board money, Spear said.
Instead of paying attorney C. Tom Jones his $125 per hour rate for handling these hearings, school administrators could call DeLaune, who would charge $75 per hour, Spear said.
Other business conducted by the board included:
FIELDHOUSE BID: School System officials accepted a $2.464 million bid for the construction of a fieldhouse and concession stand at the new Live Oak High School, scheduled to open this fall.
The winning bid was submitted by Stafford Construction, said Gene Eleazar of Alvin Fairburn and Associates.
The 15,846-square-foot fieldhouse will be equipped with two locker rooms, a media room, a weight room, training room and offices for the coaching staff, Eleazar said.