PA: Central Bucks Taxpayers Fleeced By Law Firm

Back in its MAGA Moms for Liberty period, the Central Bucks School Board implemented so many discriminatory policies that both the ACLU and the U.S. Department of Education came after the district for creating a hostile environment for LGBTQ students. So they hired the law firm Duane Morris to do an internal investigation. Turns out that the result was not just junk, by hugely over-priced junk.

The Duane Morris firm was an odd choice to begin with, as the firm includes Bill McSwain, a former failed GOP gubernatorial candidate whose candidacy included such great moments as calling the West Chester Area School Districts' Gender-Sexuality Alliance Club an example of "leftist political indoctrination." So maybe not the guy to take a hard look at the district's LGBTQ environment unless your fear is that it's not hostile enough.

When the report was issued, the ACLU immediately noted

The district got what they paid for – a one-sided investigation that was never intended to take seriously the allegations of a hostile environment for LGBTQ students at Central Bucks

It was not great. But now it turns out that it was also hugely overpriced.

Folks noted at the time that the $1 million bill from Duane Morris was pretty steep. But it has since mushroomed to $1.75, and many folks are crying foul--especially because the previous board majority knew.

Reporting for the Bucks County Courier Times, Jo Ciavaglia unearthed some emails from an attorney whose firm had previously worked for the district to former Superintendent Adam Lucabaugh and former board president Dana Hunter. Those emails warned that the bills were seriously inflated and that the district should seek both detailed documentation and reduced charges. That email was sent in June of 2023.

The attorney noted that while McSwain promised that associates and legal assistants would handle most of the work, keeping costs low, that's not what happened-- a whole team was brought in, and billed hours like crazy. Maddie Hanna of the Philadelphia Inquirer (whose work is always top notch), dug through some of those emails, for specifics like $10,000 billed for a memorandum after the interview of a middle school principal. 

Turns out Duane Morris also helped the district draft some policy barring teacher "advocacy" in classrooms. The policy is a page and a half; it apparently took five lawyers to draft it.

This came under the same board that tried to give Lucabaugh a massive severance reward when the election showed shifting winds. 

Central Bucks is a wealthy district, but that's not an excuse to throw taxpayer money around left and right (well, mostly right). That this particular fleecing was performed in the service of protecting an atmosphere hostile to LGBTQ students is doubly odious. If ever there were board members who deserved to be ousted, it was that crew. Let's hope the current board doesn't find any more messes to clean up after.