LM Nov-Dec.2019

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LegalCorner
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LM Month 2019
Chad Watkins
IASA Associate Director/General Counsel
When in Doubt, Call.
Over the past month and a half, I have been able to meet
many of you and have learned more about how hard each
of you work on behalf of students statewide. As all school
leaders know, however, there are times when that hard
work comes with tough questions that may require legal
assistance. As your attorney, I am ready to take your
call. But before you grab the phone, it may be helpful to
understand my role is subject to some parameters that
may limit the scope of my representation.
In some situations, your issue may be
better suited for the board attorney
or even one who can represent you
personally. In this article, I hope
to sketch a broad outline of those
parameters, so you know who to call
when an issue arises. To help illustrate
this, I’m going to use a driving analogy
and consider the parameters using
lanes: a district lane, a personal lane,
and an employment lane.
In the district lane, I am referring to all
matters that constitute the business
of the district. For example, this would
include student matters, employee
issues, labor relations, and board
governance (Freedom of Information
Act, Open Meetings Act, etc.). For
questions on how your district should
handle issues that arise within this
lane, your board attorney should be
contacted.
Just as our lives can take unexpected
turns, the personal lane of legal issues
can move in many directions. There
will likely come a time when you will
need to interact with the court system in some capacity. Traffic
violations, wills, family issues, personal injuries, and many more
circumstances could require a lawyer and/or representation in
court. Given the nuances in each of these areas of law, your
representation would be best handled by your own personal
attorney who has experience in these areas.
Finally, we’ve reached the lane where I drive, the employment
lane. In this lane, I can be the point of contact for matters
related to your employment at your school district. This includes
anything related to your contract, including
disputes over interpretation or drafting the
initial agreement. My representation may
also cover situations in which adverse
action is taken against you by the board of
education, even before any tangible steps
have been taken.
As you are well aware, these lanes are
not static. Both district and personal
matters can veer into the employment
lane, and matters within the employment
lane can also swerve into a district
or personal matter. In cases with the
potential for overlap, we will discuss the
boundaries carefully, so you can get the
representation that you need, at the time
you need it.
To be sure, assessing which lane your
issue falls within is not always easy, but if
you are ever uncertain about whether you
need to call or who you need to call about
a legal matter, you can always start with
me and call 217–753–2213, or email at
For Personal Legal Issues
For District Legal Issues
Call Your Board Attorney
Call Your Personal Attorney
RE: Your Employment
With the School Board
217–753–2213
YES
Please Contact Me