Shocking Legal Bills: Newberg School District Spends Over $800K on Lawsuits and Settlements

By Rebecca Wallis

Newberg, OR – August 7, 2024

In recent years, the Newberg School District has faced significant legal expenses, escalating sharply from previous budgets. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the costs across the last four fiscal years that could soon top over $1.1 million:

Fiscal Year 2020-21 (Total: $2,111.42, Budget: $10,000)

• Various: General legal expenses – $2,111.42
• Note: Legal expenses were significantly under budget by $7,888.58.

Fiscal Year 2021-22 (Total: $232,219.19, Budget: $35,000)

• Hart Wagner LLP:
  • NEA v. NSD – $36,684.93
  • Shotts v. NSD – $8,683.46
• Willamette ESD: Legal/investigative services – $34,927.24
• Tyler Smith & Associates: Professional/legal services – $27,391.75
• Harrang Long Gary Rudnick: Various cases – $5,463.90
• Hungerford Law Firm: Special Education legal consultations – $3,680.65

Fiscal Year 2022-23 (Total: $137,873.42, Budget: $350,000)

• Hart Wagner LLP:
  • NSD v. NEA – $11,705.00
  • Shotts v. NSD – $9,243.85
• Hungerford Law Firm:
  • NEA Bargaining – $5,008.25
• Harrang Long Gary Rudnick: Woolsey v. NSD – $4,950.70
• Thenell Law Group: Newberg SD open meeting suit – $15,055.00
• Willamette ESD: Legal services – $1,559.00

Fiscal Year 2023-24 (Total: $440,396.44, Budget: $75,000)

• Harrang Long Gary Rudnick: Woolsey v. NSD – $78,099.00
• Oregon Education Association:
  • NEA Settlements – $30,000.00
  • Madeline Kozloff Settlement – $10,000.00
  • Jennifer DuPriest Settlement – $10,000.00
• Prism Investigations LLC: HR Investigation Services – $29,469.70
• Davis Wright Tremaine LLP: Shotts v. NSD (monetary award) – $95,427.40
• Thenell Law Group: Kozloff & DuPriest – $33,852.55

Overall Total for FY 2021-2024: $812,600.47

Additionally, there is an amount just over $370,000 currently being decided in court regarding whether the defendants in the Woolsey case will have to pay the plaintiff’s legal fees. This decision could further impact the district’s financial situation significantly.

The summary provides a clear picture of how the district’s legal expenses have been allocated by vendor and specific case or description. This detailed overview aims to inform the community about the financial implications of ongoing and past legal matters. Despite the initial under-budget spending in FY 2020-21, subsequent years have seen a dramatic increase in legal expenses, significantly surpassing the allocated budgets.

Editors Note: The data is provided without bias and is provided with information from public records. Click the heading of the fiscal year to access the embedded PDF. The JPG version will be here. FY 2021-1,FY 2021-2, FY 2022-1,FY 2022-2,FY 2022-3,FY 2022-4, FY 2023-1,FY 2023-2,FY 2023-3,FY 2023-4, FY 2024-1,FY 2024-2.

Photo Credit Yamhill County News File