The Brownsville Independent School District has spent $687,148 on private attorneys so far this fiscal year, according to BISD's Internal Audit Department.

By comparison, BISD spent $533,826 during 2007-2008, a year-to-year comparison compiled by the Internal Audit Department shows. The document shows a grand total of $2.73 million spent on attorneys from the 2003-2004 fiscal year to the present. The fiscal year for school districts in Texas runs from July 1 to June 30.

BISD Board of Trustees member Catalina Presas-Garcia provided the comparison to The Brownsville Herald and has placed discussion of private attorney fees on Tuesday's school board agenda.

She said she provided the information because she feels the amount of money the district spends on attorneys amounts to "taxpayer abuse." She said the Board of Trustees needs to scrutinize the district's law firm, Walsh, Anderson, Brown, Aldridge & Gallegos, P.C.

"Walsh Anderson has been a big concern to me," Presas-Garcia said. "As chair of the Audit Committee, Walsh Anderson's billing is outrageous. The law firm is not following protocols and procedures. It seems to be making every administrator's decision a legal issue."

Presas-Garcia had placed a similar item on the April 21 school board agenda but withdrew it when the meeting dragged on until a late hour, and there wasn't enough time to discuss the issue.

The internal auditor's comparison shows BISD spent $405,719 on attorneys during the 2003-2004 fiscal year, $312,516 in 2004-2005 and $336,297 in 2005-2006. In 2006-2007, the total went to $449,996, while in 2007-2008 the district spent $533,826 and had spent $687,148 through March 15 of the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

Spokeswoman Drue Brown said legal fees are unavoidable in a district of BISD's size. For the 2008-2009 fiscal year, BISD has a budget of $476.66 million, according to the district's Web site www.bisd.us.

"Like school districts across the state, the Brownsville Independent School District has need of legal representation for matters involving students, employees and third parties," Brown said. "Administrative matters for a district like ours can include construction contracts, due process hearings, Texas Workforce Commission hearings and other matters. All of these require some measure of legal assistance to protect the interests and resources of the school district."

BISD's legal expenses fall approximately in the middle of the pack, according to a compilation of legal fees incurred by school districts across Texas and assembled by the Web site www.keepeanesinformed.com.

The Web site is a watchdog site maintained by Dianna Pharr, a teacher and parent in the Eanes school district near Austin. The report of legal expenses at Texas' 25,906 school districts is at www.keepeanesinformed.com/private_lawfirms.htm

Suzanne Marchman, a spokeswoman at the Texas Education Agency, confirmed the report is based on data that school districts are required to report to the TEA.

Tuesday's school board meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in the boardroom of the BISD administration building at 1900 Price Rd.

Brownsville Independent School District trustees will consider looking for a new general counsel when they meet at 5:30 p.m. today in the boardroom of BISD headquarters at 1900 Price Rd.

Trustee Catalina Presas-Garcia placed three related items on the meeting's agenda, calling for trustees to discuss and consider:

• Giving 30 days notice to the law firm Walsh, Anderson, Brown, Aldrige & Gallegos, P.C. to end its contract for legal services with BISD.
• Issuing a request for proposals from law firms seeking to become BISD's general counsel.
• Creating a position of in-house attorney.

"My main concern is that we are spending so much money on law firms," Presas-Garcia said, adding that her proposal to cut ties with Walsh Anderson stems from the firm's lawyers being present at BISD meetings where she thinks they're not necessarily needed.

"Other districts don't use their legal counsel for budget meetings," Presas-Garcia said. "I have concerns that this law firm is sitting in on every meeting - and charging us their hourly rate for their services."

She said trustees from other districts as big or bigger than BISD have told her that their legal bills are far less than BISD's. Presas-Garcia recently returned from the annual convention of the National School Board Association in San Diego.

Walsh Anderson has been BISD's general counsel since September 2007. Before that, Mike Saldaña had served as general counsel since about September 2001. Walsh Anderson became general counsel after Saldaña joined the firm and he continued to represent the district after his association with the firm, district spokeswoman Drue Brown said.

Presas-Garcia said Margarita Pizana-Flores, the district's internal auditor, has long recommended hiring an in-house attorney for day-to-day legal matters.

Tuesday's meeting also was to have included a final report from the Harlingen law firm of Denton, Navarro, Roche & Bernal on its investigation of Superintendent Hector Gonzales and BISD's Special Services Department. The agenda item on the report was pulled at the last minute, Presas-Garcia said.

Gonzales has been on administrative leave with pay since the board's 4-3 majority launched the investigation on Jan. 16.

"We're forgetting that the education of our children is foremost," Presas-Garcia said of the investigation. "We're losing all focus. ... We are spending taxpayer money that we shouldn't be sending and I'm tired of that. We should be investing in educational best practices and not in what's not working (the investigation.)" she said.