The Jersey City Board of Education nixed a $100,000 contract with high-powered law firm Scarinci Hollenbeck, represented by partner Ramon Rivera, at Thursday evening’s meeting.Â
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Rivera, who chairs Scarinci Hollenbeck’s labor and employment group, has served as board counsel, which has a $100,000 annual cap, for the JC BOE for years, but he will not be returning in 2018 after a 6-3(1) vote from the board late Thursday evening.
Trustees Amy DeGise, Luis Felipe Fernandez and Vidya Gangadin voted no, while Board President Joel Torres abstained. Torres opted not to vote on the matter since he is being sworn in as a District 4 freeholder next month.
Rivera, who is serving as part of Gov.-elect Phil Murphy’s transition counsel, is being replaced by Red-bank based law firm Kenny Gross Kovats & Parton.
The approved resolution also noted that Scarinci Hollenbeck will continue to represent the board in any ongoing legal cases that were opened before December 31st of this year.
Meanwhile, Kenny Gross Kovats & Parton’s new contract will run from January 1st, 2018 through December 31st, 2018.
The vote came after midnight at a marathon meeting where dozens of teachers stormed the meeting, demanding a new contract after working four months without an agreement.
Additionally, Florio Perucci Steinhardt & Cappelli, LLC maintained their $50,000 negotiation counsel contract and the board significantly cut down on legal representation for special education and labor and employment counsel.
Adams Gutierrez & Lattiboudere, LLC received the special education counsel contract and Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP earned the labor and employment law/general legal matters contract – both annual agreements good for $50,000.
Schwartz Simon Edelstein & Celso, Florio Perucci Steinhardt & Cappelli and Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP will no longer all serve as special education counsel, while Genova Burns, Scarinci Hollenbeck, Florio Perucci Steinhardt & Cappelli and Adams Gutierrez & Lattiboudere have been relieved as labor and employment law.
Wow! Amazing! Well, if the board voted out Rivera, I guess Trump can be voted out too! It’s a new day for the JC school board. I think Rivera is a very competent attorney, but way to political…way to political.
Hello. And Bye.