Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

School Board OKs paying $360 an hour for labor lawyer

The Clark County School Board on Thursday approved a $360-per-hour pay rate to retain labor lawyer Mark Ricciardi if the School District heads to arbitration with its four employee unions.

Board members did not project how many hours Ricciardi’s services might be required if there is arbitration.

The district is negotiating $56 million in union concessions to balance its budget for this fiscal year, which began July 1. Concessions proposed by the district include freezing step increases and educational increments, having employees pay half of a Public Employees’ Retirement System rate increase and establishing mandatory furlough days.

An additional 800 positions could be eliminated by next month if union concessions are not reached, officials have said. The cuts would be on top of about 600 central office positions already slated for elimination.

Negotiations have already started with the unions. District officials have met with the teachers union twice and the support staff union once, union leaders said. The School District does not comment on the status of negotiations, but union leaders said they are not close to an agreement, meaning negotiations might continue even as the new school year begins Aug. 29.

The district plans to hire Ricciardi only if there is an impasse in the negotiations, said outgoing district counsel Bill Hoffman, whose last day was Thursday. The district also used Ricciardi’s services during the 1990s, said Hoffman, who is resigning after 15 years with the district to become a U.S. magistrate judge.

Ricciardi is the founding and managing partner of the Las Vegas office of the national law firm Fisher and Phillips, LLP.

Ricciardi has advised and represented hotels, casinos and governments in labor matters in Las Vegas since 1987, according to his biography on his company website.

During its July 14 meeting, the School Board appointed Associate Superintendent Edward Goldman as chief negotiator of employee-management relations. He will be paid a base salary of $136,050 to negotiate with the four employee unions representing administrators, school police, support staff and teachers.

John Carr, president of the Education Support Employees Association, said Thursday he was concerned about the School Board’s decision to approve hiring outside attorneys to resolve contract negotiations. State law allows the district to employ special counsel when “it is impracticable or could constitute a conflict of interest” for legal services to be provided by in-house lawyers.

“Why are we bringing in an outside consultant to oversee collective bargaining when we just promoted an area superintendent to chief bargaining?” Carr said. “I think it’s ludicrous we have that kind of money to pay per hour when they already have an adequate team at the table. I think it’s a total waste of taxpayers’ money.”

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