WESLACO — The school board here voted unanimously to approve a contract with the Law Office of Eloy Sepulveda in a special meeting Monday, contingent on the firm including training for district employees as part of the retaining fee.
The decision follows a month’s worth of wrangling on the board over which attorney to select.
A majority of the board made up of three freshmen trustees and the board president voted to terminate the district’s legal counsel of about six years in December 2020 and voted against approving Walsh Gallegos Trevino Russo & Kyle PPC, the top-ranked firm earlier this month.
The Law Office of Eloy Sepulveda, a Weslaco-based firm, ranked second.
The proposed contract would last for two years, with the option to renew for one additional two-year period. The agreement would then continue on a month-to-month basis, which can be terminated by the district or the firm.
The decision to choose the Law Offices of Eloy Sepulveda has faced criticism from a minority faction on the board at previous meetings.
Trustees have expressed concern over the firm’s insurance status and its capability to handle the contract.
Despite the unanimous vote, some of those concerns were echoed Monday.
“Again, it’s gonna get approved. Votes are there. But before we sign, make sure that they have their errors and omissions,” Trustee Andrew Gonzalez said, again criticizing the firm’s lack of insurance.
The firm has agreed to get that insurance contingent on the district hiring them.
Trustee Jacklyn Sustaita defended the firm Monday, arguing that the district has auxiliary agreements with firms that can handle specialized matters for it.
“Everybody’s qualified in different areas,” she said. “Well this attorney that we’re seeking is for legal counsel of the board and administration, somebody to guide us and in case we need somebody to represent us in school, in special education, we also have Walsh already…”
Several trustees voiced their support for a monthly breakdown of costs the district is incurring with the Law Offices of Eloy Sepulveda along with making employee training for avoiding grievances fall under the retaining fee in the agreement.
Training district employees was a key selling point for Sepulveda when he pitched his firm to the district earlier this month.
“We go in and we teach, we teach the school district in areas,” Sepulveda said at the board’s Jan. 12 meeting. “One particular is juvenile law. Juvenile law is a big problem in all school districts, and we go in and we teach the security guards and administrators the aspects of juvenile law.”
