Can you say out of touch?

[wordsmythe]

http://www.cjonline.com/stories/0826...egalfees.shtml

Mays ridicules legal fees

Dems, however, say adequate funding would have prevented school suit

By Tim Carpenter
The Capital-Journal
House Speaker Doug Mays scoffed Friday at an assertion that attorneys who collected $2.2 million in fees to win a controversial school finance lawsuit against the state worked for bargain-basement wages.

"One of the most amusing statements of all is the whining that the lawyers were only making $190 an hour," said Mays, a Topeka Republican. "They're not going to get much sympathy from people who struggle to make that in a day."

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That's as far as I got before the laughter became too much....

$190 a day works out to $49,400 a year or $23.75 an hour.

The Lawyer fees may be ridiculous but Mays' statement is a slap in the face to people making $5.15 an hour.

[lurker]

Wordy,
Care to post your username & password to that rag?

FWIW, the HutchNews tried the 'registration required' trick and their Publisher soon realized that boards like this will stop quoting and linking to their online site.

Send CJOnline's Publisher a note and explain it to him... He's 'out of touch' too.

[wordsmythe]

Try this for login:
username - dodgeboard
password - dodgeboard

Mays ridicules legal fees

Dems, however, say adequate funding would have prevented school suit

By Tim Carpenter
The Capital-Journal
House Speaker Doug Mays scoffed Friday at an assertion that attorneys who collected $2.2 million in fees to win a controversial school finance lawsuit against the state worked for bargain-basement wages.

"One of the most amusing statements of all is the whining that the lawyers were only making $190 an hour," said Mays, a Topeka Republican. "They're not going to get much sympathy from people who struggle to make that in a day."

Legislators applied their spin to the disclosure Thursday by Schools for Fair Funding Inc. of previously confidential financial information pertaining to a lawsuit filed in 1999 alleging the state failed to abide by a constitutional requirement to provide students a suitable education. Nineteen Kansas school districts provided $3.2 million to support the umbrella organization's litigation. Of the total, $2.9 million was spent.

Alan Rupe, a Wichita attorney representing Schools for Fair Funding, made public 2,700 pages of information on contributions and expenditures tied to the lawsuit. He acted in response to a lawsuit filed last month by The Topeka Capital-Journal and the potential of litigation from Attorney General Phill Kline.


By the numbers
Schools for Fair Funding spent more than $2.9 million in its lawsuit against the state. A look at some of the expenditures:

• $2.26 million -- attorneys fees

• $158,000 -- expert witnesses

• $474,000 -- lobbyists

• $12,000 -- public relations

• $24,000 -- other

Numbers don't equal total because of rounding

The newspaper seeks a court order declaring the nonprofit organization a public agency because it is funded by tax dollars and therefore subject to the Kansas Open Records Act.
In releasing the documents, Rupe revealed that his law firm was paid $1.5 million, while a Newton firm serving as co-counsel billed $680,000. Rupe said his fee was well below his normal rate of $300 per hour.

Materials provided by Rupe show Schools for Fair Funding devoted $474,000 to lobbying the Legislature over the seven-year life of the lawsuit. The accounting indicates compensation paid to lobbyists John Peterson and Bill Brady, who are held in high regard by Republicans and Democrats in the Capitol, reached a high of $136,000 in the past fiscal year.

"From my experience, that seems a little out of line," said Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, a lawyer. "The most disturbing thing is this was taxpayer dollars. If these positions of advocacy were worthwhile, they should be able to raise private funds to do that."

Neither Peterson nor Brady could be reached Friday.

Rupe's documents also showed school districts involved in the lawsuit provided $158,000 for expert witnesses at trial, $12,000 for public relations and $24,000 for "other" expenses.

House Minority Leader Dennis McKinney, D-Greensburg, said he couldn't fault Schools for Fair Funding for its handling of the case. The litigation was driven by the Legislature's refusal to fulfill its obligation to provide a suitable education for all Kansas children, he said.

"Some people (in the Legislature) were committed to fighting in the courts rather than solving the issue," he said.

McKinney said that protracted legal battle inflated attorney and lobbying fees for participating school districts.

The lawsuit by Schools for Fair Funding resulted in a Kansas Supreme Court decision that instructed legislators to boost spending on K-12 education.

In the 2006 session, lawmakers adopted a three-year plan that phases in more than $800 million in new funding. Justices on the high court responded by dismissing the lawsuit in July.

Districts funding the suit included Dodge City, Emporia, Salina, Hays, Leavenworth, Manhattan, Newton, Wichita, Winfield and Kansas City, Kan. Most are medium-sized districts that claimed state funding for educating poor and minority students was insufficient.

Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, said it was distressing that legal wrangling was required to open up records of Schools for Fair Funding. She also expressed regret a lawsuit was necessary to focus the Legislature on funding education.

"Taxpayers want their hard-earned dollars going into the classroom -- not the courtroom," she said.

Not every legislator participated in the organization's lobbying campaign.

"Never, not once," said Rep. Carl Krehbiel, R-Moundridge, a member of the House Education Budget Committee for four of the past eight years. "Where did that money go?"

Rep. Ann Mah, D-Topeka, didn't get as much as a cookie from those delivering School for Fair Funding's message. That isn't a surprise, she said.

"They didn't have to explain it," she said. "I got elected on a pro-education platform. Where I live, they sent me there to do the job that the Legislature had failed to do in the past."

Mays said the school lawsuit was a blueprint for disgruntled school administrators.

"The people of Kansas need to get used to the idea that the state will be engaged in litigation by one group of school districts or another," he said.

McKinney disagreed and believes school districts would stay away from the courthouse if lawmakers kept their financial promises.

"If we fulfill our commitment that we made this year for a three-year plan, we should avoid the need for expensive litigation," he said.

[K C Muffin]

I don't think it's much of a slap in the face to the folks that are under-paid or under-employed. They probly think the same thing. That it's damned shameful for attornies to charge that to the taxpayers and watch safety go underfunded.

[wordsmythe]

Originally Posted by K C Muffin

I don't think it's much of a slap in the face to the folks that are under-paid or under-employed. They probly think the same thing. That it's damned shameful for attornies to charge that to the taxpayers and watch safety go underfunded.

Lawyers are supposed to be out to make money.

Mays is an elected official and is supposed to have his constituents' best interests at heart. To do that you should have a clue about those people.

Quick show of hands here... How many of you make $190 a day?

Sadly my hand isn't going up.

[Bubba]

Is that $190/day gross or net?

[Made in the USA]

Us "high rollers" knock down those big bucks. Heck, I made 190 cents one day in a couple of hours. And she was a happy camper!! Gave me a 2 dollar tip even-----

[K C Muffin]

Originally Posted by wordsmythe

Lawyers are supposed to be out to make money.

Mays is an elected official and is supposed to have his constituents' best interests at heart. To do that you should have a clue about those people.

Quick show of hands here... How many of you make $190 a day?

Sadly my hand isn't going up.

That's right, Wordie - my comment was about something I read in an earlier post, one of yours, I thought - must not have been - that this was a real slap in the face to the voters. That was what I was responding to - Most Kansas constituents feel very lucky to have jobs in this economy. And I don't hear much whining. But when something like this bill is presented, I would have a hard time defending it. True, they're in the attorney business to make money, but there are shenanigans played every day by attorneys - I'd rather think they wouldn't be playing with taxpayer's money....knowing full well they are and don't think a thing about it.

That's also what I meant about diverting money to pay these sheisters when safety and education as a whole goes underfunded. Apologies to those that took it a different way...........or maybe I misread an earlier post. Anyway, I obviously jumped the gun and have had too much Coke today!!! Luv to all!

[wordsmythe]

I did say it's a slap in the face and that's how I see it.

His statement indicates that he doesn't have a clue as to what real people have to live on.

[K C Muffin]

Oh - alrighty then. I'll just pull my head out of my ass and start paying attention! I just reread your original post. My bad.