LEGAL BILLS RELATED TO CHS COACH PROBE NEAR $20,000

As the Board of Education digests the outside investigative report into Columbia High School baseball coach Joe Fischetti's alleged harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) of former players, legal costs related to it are nearing $20,000.

In addition to paying $5,000 to outside investigator Leroy Seitz to review the district's own HIB findings against Fischetti, the case has also racked up nearly $20,000 in outside legal bills through May from the firm of Schenck, Price, Smith and King of Florham Park.

That does not include likely billing for June and at least part of July.

You may recall that the district hired Seitz nearly four months ago to review its own investigation that found Fischetti had allowed harassment and bullying of at least two former players.

Despite that, and a lawsuit filed by former player David DeFranco, the school board on Feb. 22 voted to re-appoint Fischetti as coach this season by a 6-3 vote. Board members Johanna Wright, Chris Sabin and Elizabeth Baker voted against the re-appointment.

At the same meeting, Superintendent John Ramos announced that an outside investigator would be brought in to review the findings. It was later revealed that investigator was Seitz.

Seitz provided his report on Fischetti to the board in a closed session last week. It has yet to be made public and so far will not be, the district states. The board is set to meet on Monday, but the agenda has no item related to the investigation.

Schenck, Price, Smith and King was retained in January to work on the Fischetti and DeFranco cases. The firm is the district's outside legal counsel at $175 per hour. Records obtained from a public records request finds that firm has charged $19,457.54 from January through May for its work on the HIB case.