Fourth time the charm for Gilbert contract

Debate over whether attorney Joey Gilbert reports to the school district or the board characterized approval of his contract on Tuesday.

Gilbert’s contract came before the school board Tuesday for the fourth time since he was hired in July and was approved during the meeting.

Counsel presented a draft of the revised legal contract of Joey Gilbert Law for review and discussion.

“We approve the contract to retain Joey Gilbert for the school district, but he doesn’t report (directly) to us,” said Trustee Yvonne Wagstaff.

Yet, the contract says Gilbert does serve and report to the board and not just the superintendent.

“How I see it, is I am hired by the board, I report to the board and I will also always communicate with the Superintendent, which I do probably more than anyone,” said Gilbert. “But this is the contract, the way it is written, and I stand behind it.”

Trustee Susan Jansen said Gilbert was hired for the board to have responsive counsel.

“The whole reason Joey is here and we fired Maupin, Cox (& LeGoy) is because they were only reporting to Keith Lewis and was not responsive us,” she said. “So, we hired Joey so we would have a lawyer who was responsive to the board.”

Trustees Carey Kangas, Linda Gilkerson and Yvonne Wagstaff wanted a third party to review the contract.

“I don’t agree with having a third party review it, I don’t need a third party reviewing it,” said Gilbert. “It’s a contract; it’s fair.”

The request was rejected and Gilbert’s contract was approved as written, with trustees David Burns, Katherine Dickerson, Doug Englekirk, and Jansen in favor.