The Board of Education approved a $150,000 increase for one of its legal services contractors, bringing the total allocation to $400,000 for a firm that is handling 46 pending cases for the city school district.The unanimous approval from the Board on Monday night bumped the $250,000 budget for Shipman & Goodwin by 60 percent ($150,000). That’ll bring the contractor’s legal service allocation total to $400,000 for the year. Shipman & Goodwin isn’t the only law firm the district contracts with. NHPS also contracts with Berchem Moses PC, Martyn W. Philpot, and Morris Duffy Alonso Faley for legal services for the 2024 – 25 school year. The Monday contract approval for Shipman & Goodwin allocates that $150,000 extra for the 46 cases Shipman & Goodwin handles for the district.The four contractors in total have handled 80 cases and all expulsion matters so far this year.The same four legal companies were used for the 2023 – 24 school year. Then, they handled a total of 89 legal cases and all expulsion matters from August through July. Last year’s legal services tracking report indicates that the district paid its legal contractors a total of $581,065.68. Three of the four companies received amendments to their initial allocations. NHPS operations consultant Michael Carter presented the $150,000 amendment for legal services from Shipman & Goodwin at the school board’s Finance and Operations Committee meeting on Jan 6. When asked for an explanation for the price increase, Carter explained that the district has one or two legal cases that are the main drivers in cost. He also noted that the costs are higher than last year because of the one or two longstanding cases that he said ​“should be ending soon.” “To be on the safe side we want to add an extra $150,000 so we can finish up the other cases that Shipman is handling for us. But we need to add this money so that we can cover our legal expenses in a timely manner and get these resolved,” Carter said. He was also asked if the amended amount will last for the remainder of the year. Carter said. ​“This is the best estimate, but if these two other cases are resolved quickly that cost could be less, but at this time it’s the best estimate.” Committee Chair Matt Wilcox concluded, ​“I’ve had people from different parts of the district remind me that sometimes we avoid legal cost with good working relationships with our staff and unions.” At Monday’s Board of Education meeting, before the Board approved the legal service contract amendment, Truman educator Ashley Stockton testified about an unanswered Freedom of Information Act request she’s made to the district related to how much it’s spent on legal services in recent years. Stockton has offered similar testimony at past board meetings. She’s spoken up about her concerns about the district’s increased spending on legal services while other areas in the district remain underfunded, in particular building maintenance and school staff. “It is unclear how this Board could vote to spend more money on legal fees when the City is unable to currently account for what the school district has already spent and for what specific purposes,” Stockton said in her testimony. She called on the board to reject the proposed amendment increasing Shipman & Goodwin’s legal contract costs. ​“The practice of regularly revising previously approved budget allocations fosters doubt and erodes public trust in the fiscal management by this Board.”