Those expenses were just for the period from January through May 2016. A new request for more recent expense data was denied because invoices had not yet been filed with the district by its attorneys on the issue.
At the time, the district revealed that it had spent $19,457.54 on legal fees with Schenck, Price, Smith and King of Florham Park for the HIB-related work. But it declined to release the actual invoices for the fees, which detail exact time spent on the cases and specific work done.
Maplewoodian.com filed a lawsuit against the district last month seeking access to the invoices, which prompted the district to agree to release them.
See the released invoices HERE.
They provide an inside glimpse into exactly what the nearly $20,000 in lawyer fees (at $175 per hour) went towards. From phone calls and emails with Superintendent John Ramos and School Board President Elizabeth Baker to travel, tolls and parking costs for the lawyers.
In one instance, attorneys racked up more than $1,200 in fees on Jan. 14, 2016, for more than seven hours spent on "review of email related to HIB investigation; telephone call with (then-board attorney) P. Stern; regarding status of matter and ECS review; continued review of documents; telephone call with (Board President) E. Baker regarding meeting."
The invoices also reveal how much time Baker, Ramos and other district staff had to spend on the HIB cases, which related to claims that CHS baseball coach Joe Fischetti and assistant coach Matthew Becht had bullied and harassed several former players.
The district recently chose not to reappoint them as coaches for the 2017 season and posted an ad seeking replacements. This followed district findings last year that Fischetti had committed several acts of HIB, as well as a lawsuit filed by former CHS baseball player David DeFranco in early 2016 claiming harassment and bullying by the coaches.
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