West Shore school board member ‘shocked’ president planned to fire solicitor without committee input

YORK and CUMBERLAND COUNTIES, Pa. (WHTM) — The West Shore School District’s board appears poised Thursday night to fire its current solicitor and hire a new firm without any official discussion about the matter, some parents and other board members say.

In an email circulating in the school district community and seen by abc27 News, Kevin Hall of the law firm Tucker Arensberg told the current solicitor — Brooke Say of the firm Stock and Leader, which has represented the district for more than a decade — “a change in solicitor will be on the agenda for the April 11, 2024 meeting” and “we do not foresee a need for you to attend the meeting on Thursday.”

Say responded to Hall, in part, that Hall had indicated his “firm would be appointed at the upcoming board meeting” even though “there had not been a board meeting or executive session where appointment of your firm as solicitor was discussed.”

Say also declined to release details of ongoing board matters, which Hall had requested “with the goal of making the transition as smooth as possible.”

Say declined to comment on the matter to abc27 News. Hall didn’t respond to a request for comment.

But some parents say the move comes after a majority of board members — board president Heidi Thomas and four members elected last fall — seemed frustrated Say hadn’t done more to facilitate an agenda the parents say includes hiring the conservative Indepdendence Law Center.

Thomas and the new board members — Kelly Brent, David Brinton, Brenda Cox and Mandy Davis — didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Another board member, Brian Guistwhite, said he was “shocked” to learn the news.

Guistwhite, who has been on the board for about 15 years, said he was on a three-member solicitor search committee this time, just as last time the district hired a solicitor about 12 years ago. But that time, he said, the process involved input from administrators, teachers and staff and began with 12 candidate firms, then narrowed down to three, with Stock and Leader — which he said has done a good job — finally emerging.

“It’s ultimately the board’s decision to select a legal firm,” Guistwhite said. “However, we cannot operate without the input of the administration and staff who will ultimately work with these folks — the legal team — on a day-to-day basis.”

He said this time, he learned in an email the decision had already been made.

“I had not been informed prior to that email that there was any discussion of any firms or interviews or anything,” Guistwhite said, even though he was on the search committee.

Critics say the lack of any official discussion about the matter — the first official acknowledgement was an item for Thursday’s meeting on an agenda posted Wednesday afternoon — lacks transparency, at the very least.

“People are being kept in the dark, which gives us a feeling of not having trust,” said Kirsten Salvatore, who has two children — one in high school, one in middle school — in the district. “If you don’t have trust, how can you know your kids are going to be safe?”

Salvatore also cited — as evidence of her concerns — what critics have said was a secret meeting between leaders and the Indepdendence Law Center.

Salvatore’s characterization of Hall’s email message to Say: “Hey, let’s have you breach your own contract you have by not showing up like you should for your job. And can you share this confidential information with us so we can make it smooth?”

Why would the board’s president be so interested in firing the district’s lawyer?

Because Say was cautious about some of the moves the board wanted to make, Salvatore speculated.

“They’re leading with emotions of: they didn’t get what they wanted,” Salvatore said. So “they’re just going to recreate their own rules. And how better to do that than try to go after our solicitor?”

With an enrollment of about 7,500 students, West Shore School District — straddling York and Cumberland counties — is the fifth largest in central Pennsylvania.

Salvatore said the board’s majority is too interested in crossing what she believes should be the line between church and state and not interested enough in other issues.

“There are different communities, whether it’s special ed, which I have a kiddo in, or whether it’s LGBTQ, which is my household as well,” she said.

Thursday night’s board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.