Two Lehighton Area School District board members resigned Monday and the remaining directors voted 5-2 to oust a local law firm that had served as district solicitor for over three decades.

Larry Stern, who served as board president since December 2017, and Rita Spinelli, who currently served as vice president, both had two years left on their terms prior to resigning.

Stern said he had made up his mind previously, but the motions brought forth by Director Barbara Bowes for Monday’s meeting, “showed that there was no working relationship on the board moving forward.”

“It showed there would be no discussion on topics,” Stern said. “The prime example is appointing a solicitor without even going through a request for proposals or have the board as a whole interview solicitors to see what their perspectives are on the laws from the Department of Education. It’s just a total covert action. It really proved the point that I could not add any value to the board any longer and it was my choice to just disassociate myself from the board.”

Following Stern’s resignation on Monday, the board voted 5-2 to appoint Beers as president until December’s reorganization meeting.

Spinelli cited differing philosophies with the current board majority as a major reason for stepping aside.

“I had hoped to start a new chapter during my last two years as a board member with a climate of honesty, cooperation and finding common ground,” Spinelli said. “Events of the last few days have made me see that would not be possible. I will always have the Lehighton Area School District close to my heart, but I can’t support the plan proposed by our new members.”

Last week, Director Barbara Bowes requested several motions be added to Monday’s agenda, including terminating the Filer and Schwab law firm as district solicitor effective at the end of the meeting and replacing them with Fox Rothschild LLP at a blended hourly rate of $250 per hour for base services and $300 per hour for special services.

“We need an attorney we can trust,” Bowes said. “Fox Rothschild is the largest law firm doing educational law in Pennsylvania. Paying a little bit more can save tons of money in the long run. You don’t always get what you pay for, but very often you do.”

Joining Bowes in voting for the change in attorneys were David Bradley, Richard Beltz, Gail Maholick and Joy Beers. Nathan Foeller and Stephen Holland were opposed.

In June, the board unanimously extended the Lehighton-based Filer & Schwab law firm through the end of the 2021 calendar year after seeking proposals for solicitor services at that time.

Filer & Schwab’s agreement called for the district to pay it $165/hour for an attorney and $75/hour for a paralegal. Other proposals during the summer came from King, Spry, Herman, Freund and Faul, the firm that handles the district’s special education and litigation matters, and Sweet, Stevens, Katz and Williams, which represents neighboring Palmerton Area School District.

King Spry listed an annual fee of $15,000 for 2021-22 for routine services. For other matters, the firm would have charged $160/hour. Sweet Stevens listed its regular hourly rates at $160/hour for attorneys and $125/hour for legal assistants.

Lehighton Business Manager Edward Rarick questioned the process for choosing Fox Rothschild as the solicitor candidate, when the firm charges rates 36% higher than those who submitted proposals in the summer.

According to Rarick, Bowes and Bradley engaged the services of Fox Rothschild attorney Jeffrey Sultanik to evaluate the validity of Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver’s contract.

“I have concerns as it appears we have promised Mr. Sultanik the solicitor position within the district in reciprocation for this engagement and that violates state ethics laws, moral principles and is a classic example of quid pro quo,” Rarick said. “It appears this motion is more of a scorched earth policy meant to rip this district apart. It is my opinion this action will cost the district a substantial amount of money that would be better spent on our students.”

Following the decision, Filer said there were no hard feelings over the change.

“I don’t want to represent people who don’t want me to represent them,” he said.

Fox Rothschild is a national law firm based in Philadelphia. Bowes said the firm charges a reduced rate for an attorney to attend board meetings virtually. Decisions on whether the attorney attends meetings in person or virtually will be made by the board president, Bowes said.

One of the firm’s first responsibilities will be to “investigate the legal validity of Cleaver’s contract status as superintendent including the possibility of the board submitting fraudulent documentation to the Pennsylvania Department of Education concerning contract extensions and/or renewals since July 1, 2012.”

“I don’t know if there were fraudulent documents submitted,” Bowes said. “But if things were done that aren’t lawful, they need to be corrected.”

Bowes said the motion was worded in large part by the Fox Rothschild firm.