UPPER SAUCON TWP., Pa. — Southern Lehigh School Board on Monday hired a new solicitor after some school directors criticized the last one for poor communication with the board.
School directors appointed Wisler and Pearlstine LLP as the new solicitor effective Tuesday, with a contract through June 30, 2027.
“We’re appreciative of the relationship and the guidance you’ve provided us."Karen Trinkle, Southern Lehigh superintendent
The firm has offices in Bucks, Chester and Montgomery counties.
It was ranked among the best law firms in the country this year by the industry publication Best Lawyers, according to the firm's site.
Wisler and Pearlstine took the reins from the Bethlehem-based firm King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul LLC — known as KingSpry.
“We’re appreciative of the relationship and the guidance you’ve provided us,” Superintendent Karen Trinkle said of KingSpry at Monday's meeting.
KingSpry guides district through payouts
KingSpry helped the district navigate a tumultuous few months that included payouts to two former employees.
Former Superintendent Michael Mahon parted ways with the district under two agreements that granted him more than $246,000, along with other benefits, such as continued health care coverage.
That was after former Human Resources Director Ethan Ake-Little accused Mahon of discrimination, retaliation and fraud — which Mahon called “unfair.”
Ake-Little subsequently was suspended while his performance was investigated before he walked away with a $215,000 settlement agreement.
Though no longer the district’s solicitor, KingSpry was hired Monday as special counsel until 2028 to provide transitional support to the district on ongoing legal projects.
School Director Emily Gehman was the only school director to vote against hiring KingSpry as special counsel.
Gehman takes issue with Freund's work
In recent months, Gehman has been vocal in her criticism of John Freund, the attorney from KingSpry who works with Southern Lehigh.
Gehman criticized Freund’s counsel regarding the separation agreement with the former superintendent, blaming Freund for failing to update a payment calculation error in a timely manner.
“It’s easy to pick on the lawyer."John Freund, KingSpry attorney, said in September
She also said Freund let the former chief of schools be overpaid as part of the separation agreement, in violation of the Pennsylvania Public School Code.
Freund pushed back on both of Gehman’s arguments and said she was critical of him only because she was ousted as board president in June — a process Freund helped facilitate procedurally.
“It’s easy to pick on the lawyer,” he told LehighValleyNews.com in September.
In response, Gehman said in a statement at the time that, “It is exceedingly rare that a founding member of a law firm seeks to defend himself by publicly disparaging a client.”
Still, not all board members agreed with Gehman.
Director Christopher Wayock defended the district’s solicitor in September and praised the firm’s work with recent “challenging situations” to help Southern Lehigh make the most "fiscally responsible” decisions.
Concerns with communication
But some school directors also have had critiques of Freund, namely a lack of communication with the full board when drafting documents for consideration and action.
Freund has pushed back on that criticism, saying he consulted with board leadership and any parties with whom he was required to speak in the course of completing his work — which doesn't include the full nine-member board.
In July, board Vice President Candi Kruse, along with school directors Eric Boyer, Timothy Kearney and Gehman called for a request for proposal to be developed to seek alternative solicitors.
But board President Stephen Maund said the RFP could wait. Ultimately, the board took no action at that time.
“I hope that we can look at better understanding...the fiscal efficiencies of our legal expenditures going forward."Emily Gehman, Southern Lehigh school director
In September, the district put out an RFP to select law firms, and two were interviewed, with Wisler and Pearlstine being chosen.
Though she said she supports the selection of Wisler and Pearlstine, Gehman raised concerns Monday about the recent RFP process.
She questioned why the RFP wasn’t made public and why firms with which the district has successfully worked in recent months weren’t invited to be considered.
She said she will seek answers to those questions privately.
Gehman also said the district will work with four law firms over the next year on various issues.
“I hope that we can look at better understanding that interplay and the fiscal efficiencies of our legal expenditures going forward,” she said.
Also Monday, the board approved a district employee compensation analysis, to be conducted by Wisler and Pearlstine.
The analysis comes after Gehman said this month that Southern Lehigh has a pattern of pay disparities between female employees and their male colleagues.
Additionally, school directors on Monday approved a policy on generative artificial intelligence, making the district the 10th in the Lehigh Valley to do so.
