Who is the man behind the SPED curtain of failures.

UPDATE 9/2/2015 : 


The Seattle Public Schools general counsel announced his retirement Monday, according to Seattle Public Schools.
The counsel, Ron English, is 65 and has served in the position since 2011, says a news release. The release said English “stated he is leaving to spend more time with his family, including four grandchildren, and to travel.”
English was put on administrative leave in February for undisclosed reasons and was on leave when he notified the district of his retirement. The investigation was closed upon his retirement, with no findings, school district spokeswoman Stacy Howard said.


“… I want to personally thank Ron for his eighteen years of service to Seattle Public Schools,” said part of a statement from Nyland in the release.  “During his time at Seattle Public Schools, he provided legal guidance and direction to the District on complex business, procurement, construction, municipal, environmental, property and school law issues.”





Dear SPS colleagues,

I am writing to let you know that Ron English, General Counsel, has been
placed on paid administrative leave. Administrative leave is not disciplinary in nature.
It is an employer-directed removal of a staff member from the regular work
environment for an indefinite period of time. The leave is used to support
a fair, timely, and thorough investigation involving employee conduct. When
an employee is placed on paid administrative leave, there is to be no
contact between the individual and district personnel and/or students and
families.

As this is a personnel issue, the district cannot comment publicly on the
matter. We encourage staff to do the same in order to respect the rights of
the individual on leave as well as protect the integrity of the investigation.
Assistant General Counsel John Cerqui will lead the legal department during
this time.

Thank you,
Dr. Larry Nyland, Superintendent

 From: English, Ron
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2014 4:31 PM
To: Banda, Jose L
Cc: SchoolBoard
Subject: Re: Conflict of interest in the legal dept.
I have forwarded this to the City Ethics Office for their action. I will note that we have spent
about $1 million annually on outside legal fees of all kinds and that I made the decision to
hire the Curran firm.
I welcome a review of our litigation management practices.
Ron English
General Counse

Office of General Counsel

Overview

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The General Counsel’s Office provides legal services to the Seattle Public Schools, including the School Board, Superintendent, and District Administrators, to ensure legal compliance across all District operations and reduce potential liability. 

Staff attorneys represent and counsel clients on a variety of practice areas:

• Ethics Policy Compliance
• School Board Operations
• Open Public Meetings Act Compliance
• Litigation Management and Tort Claims
• Facilities and Capital Projects
• Contracting and Procurement
• District and School Operations
• Policy and Procedure Development and Compliance
• Property Management & Property Sales
• Legislative Analysis
• Labor and Employment Issues
• Educational Operations Issues
• Student 504 Accommodation
• Special Education
• Student Issues
• Public Records and Student Records Compliance
• Risk Management (Risk and Loss Prevention)
• District Safety and Security
• Constitutional Issues

Vision Statement

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Providing tools and removing obstacles so that students and staff realize their full potential.

Mission Statement

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The Office of General Counsel provides, manages, and coordinates all legal services for Seattle Public Schools in a collegial, positive, and professional manner. We are committed to rendering high quality and responsive services to support Seattle Public Schools’ mission.

Office of the General Counsel

Budget and FTE Changes,

Budgets Fiscal Year   Org Name   2014           2015         Change

04        General Counsel           $4,089,370   $4,304,267    $214,897

                                        Total $4,089,370  $4,304,267     $214,897


General Counsel

Staff FTE Fiscal Year 2014      2015      Change

 Total                            20.3       20.2        ‐0.1

                                   SPED LEGAL ROUND TABLE IN ACTION
                                        "Look, we don't want any paper trails"






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