MCSD board’s pursuit of independent counsel takes surprise turn

Last month, the Muscogee County School Board was on track to hire a familiar lawyer as its independent counsel for legal advice on how the board’s controversial conduct might affect the school district’s accreditation. Now, somebody else will be recommended.

Chairwoman Pat Hugley Green of District 1 announced during the board’s monthly work session Monday night that Glenn Brock won’t be available to provide this service to MCSD because his mother was in a “serious accident.”

Brock is the partner in the Atlanta office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough who was the MCSD board’s consultant for hiring its three most recent superintendents.

Green instead plans to recommend the board hire Charles E. Cox Jr., a self-employed lawyer in Macon. He has worked with school districts, including MCSD, on “both sides” of education employee issues, Green said, as well as with the Georgia Association of Educators, the Professional Association of Georgia Educators and local governments in Warner Robins and Spalding County.

District 5 representative Laurie McRae said she suggested Cox to Green after two attorney friends vouched for him. Green said she won’t know until later this week whether Cox would be available, but she wants the board during its meeting next Monday to vote on hiring him if he agrees.

During a called meeting July 11, the board voted 5-2-1 to seek an independent counsel. Voting yes were Green, McRae, Naomi Buckner of District 4, Mark Cantrell of District 6 and Cathy Williams of District 7. Voting no were John Thomas of District 2 and Frank Myers of District 8. Vanessa Jackson of District 3 abstained. Vice chairwoman Kia Chambers, the nine-member board’s lone countywide representative, was absent.

Neither Myers nor Thomas spoke about this issue during Monday’s work session. Afterward, the Ledger-Enquirer asked Thomas for his reaction to the switch in Green’s recommendation. “It’s an unfortunate situation,” he said. “My thoughts go out to Mr. Brock and his family, and I hope that’s resolved. That being said, I still think that it’s a waste of time to even talk about spending money on this. There’s nothing going on from any board members, at least from me and Frank, that would affect the school district’s accreditation.”

Listed in the consent agenda among seven recommendations for “sole source and volatile purchases,” the independent legal counsel would cost MCSD no more than $15,000.

“The initial scope of work would include but is not limited to a consultation and review to provide recommendations. Specific criteria to assist in accreditation matters:

▪ “Provide an overview of conduct/behavior issues that have been cited against school districts who have had accreditation issues.

▪ “Give legal opinion as to conduct of our board members that may violate code of conduct/ethics.

▪ “Give legal opinion as to the effects that such behavior may have on MCSD accreditation related to the Board Governance Observation.”

Myers said during a public forum last month that he or Thomas will make a motion for the school board to ask the GBI to investigate the Montravious Thomas and Roy Newman cases. Asked why such a motion isn’t on the board’s agenda this month, Thomas said, “We’re working on that. We still have a plan to do that. … As soon as we have everything set up the way want it, we will bring forward that motion.” But it won’t be ready in time for next Monday’s meeting, Thomas added.

Montravious, then 13, is the student that contracted behavior specialist Bryant Mosley allegedly body-slammed “no less than” five times while disciplining Montravious Sept. 12 in the alternative education AIM Program at the Edgewood Student Services Center, where staff failed to get him medical treatment and sent him home on a bus, according to the $25 million lawsuit filed on Montravious’ behalf. His right leg was amputated below the knee Oct. 18.

Newman is the MCSD bus driver who died when his replacement bus crashed into a tree Aug. 22, injuring the seven students on board.

MCSD board attorney Greg Ellington recommended seeking an independent counsel after Myers accused him in a June 22 email to the board of “intentionally misleading the board” in the Montravious case, “and he also played a part in orchestrating the delay in advising the board this event of Montravious being injured had even occurred,” Myers wrote.

In an email to the board earlier that day, Ellington wrote that Myers offering opposing counsel “relevant facts” without sharing that information with the board’s counsel is improper because “that privilege belongs to the Board and District as a whole and cannot be waived by any individual board member.”

Myers countered in his email to the board that “no privilege is absolute. If there is underlying fraud and/or criminal activity involved – as I believe is the case here – NO privilege would apply, and certainly not the attorney-client privilege Mr. Ellington seeks to invoke to protect his own self interests, fellow lawyers and the interests of the Superintendent.”

Ellington told the board during its July 11 meeting that Myers’ criticisms of him and his firm are “completely unfounded and baseless.” He might be “a fact witness” to these allegations, Ellington said, so “I don’t think you should be hearing from me about these issues because I’m, to some extent, whether I like it or not, in the middle of it.”

This story was originally published August 14, 2017 at 10:43 PM with the headline "MCSD board’s pursuit of independent counsel takes surprise turn."