Lehighton district retains Schwab

A second attempt by a Lehighton Area School District board member to oust William Schwab as district solicitor failed by a 6-3 vote Monday night.

Director David Bradley Sr. made a motion to “hire The Slusser Law Firm as an interim solicitor until the board can openly advertise the position and select a solicitor.”

Bradley, Joy Beers and Gail Maholick voted for the motion, while Richard Beltz, Andrew Yenser, Larry Stern, Wayne Wentz, Stephen Holland and Rita Spinelli opposed it.

“The solicitor position has not been bid out in years, and it could be of value to this board to get a different set of views for less money,” Bradley said in defense of his motion.

Last month, the board voted 5-4 to retain Schwab through the 2018-19 school year at a rate of $165 per hour.

Bradley also voted against retaining Schwab during that meeting.

The local lawyer has been representing the district for about 30 years.

“Why would we appoint a temporary attorney when we just hired one for a year?” Holland asked.

Bradley said he felt the Slusser Law Firm was “more open toward Right To Know requests, parent and student rights and local control.”

“They don’t use the state-oriented downtrodden view,” Bradley said. “They seem to fight for students.”

Slusser is the law firm used by the Hazleton Area School District. A check of the last three months of Hazleton’s bills shows the district has paid the firm $15,250 a month.

Last month, Spinelli encouraged the board to get a list of solicitor candidates in time for the district’s annual approval of a law firm next spring.

“Give us the information next year when it’s time to hire an attorney,” she said. “I’m not changing my mind based on hearsay.”