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Century To Spend $4,000 To Find Out Lawyer’s Fee And Reasons To Fight Carver/Century Closure
March 25, 2009
The Town of Century will spend $4,000 to find out how much it will cost to hire Crestview lawyer Jeffery Toney to fight the closure of Carver/Century K-8 School, and to find out what legal grounds he thinks the town has to fight the school board.
For about an hour, the Century Town Council, the town’s attorney, local residents and the press tried to get Toney (pictured left) say how much it will cost to have him take on the school board and for him to say what he thinks the school board has done to give the town legal standing to keep the school open. But he never provided the council with an answer, prompting them to accept his $4,000 offer for a memorandum to explain the legal basis upon which he would fight the board. The $4,000 letter will also let the council know how much he would charge to represent them.
Toney, arriving about 20 minutes late for a special council meeting Tuesday afternoon, began by telling the council, “This case involves a severe economic impact that will devastate your town. If there is no elementary school, you are not going to be able to attract any businesses.”
“You have a good opportunity here,” Toney told the council. “It will be a very difficult case…difficult and expensive.”
He said he planned to use his fees to hire other attorneys and experts from around the state to assist in the fight against the Escambia County School Board’s closure of Carver/Century K-8 School. The other attorneys and experts would be needed, he said, because “you are not going to find a lot of cases like this.”
The closure, approved March 17 on a 3-2 school board vote, will not make the Carver/Century kids comfortable, will make them ride 30-40 miles per day on a school bus and will not give them a place to “call home”.
Council President Ann Brooks asked Toney for the specific legal basis for taking the school board to court.
“The immediate impact is economics,” Toney replied, saying that vendors that deliver to the school would no longer shop at local businesses.
Matt Dannheisser, Century’s attorney, interrupted Toney’s response to reiterate Brooks’ question, again asking for the specific legal basis for a claim against the school board.
“We’ve got to exhaust all of your legal remedies,” Toney said.
“I’m not aware of any basis to pursue a claim based on economic impact,” Dannheisser (pictured left) said. “Is there a specific legal precedent that has been violated?”
“We think so,” Toney said, saying that there was an implied contract between the school board and the town to keep the school open. And he said there is “some civil rights stuff”.
Dannheisser again asked Toney to explain the facts related to the case and the basis for legal action. Toney replied that once he was hired by the council, he would explain. He told Dannheisser that his questions “really doesn’t help anything in this situation,” and to “joust on what the legal remedies might be is inappropriate”.
“Could you outline what this is going to cost us?” Council member Gary Riley asked.
Toney said he had an expense sheet and a retainer letter that outlined the financial information, but he did not provide any paperwork to the council during Tuesday’s meeting.
“We don’t have deep pockets, but we do have the desire to win,” Riley said. “We know that this is going to cost.”
“We are going to partner up and will be representing some of the citizens in Century,” Toney said. He said he had other attorneys with him Tuesday representing groups that would aid in the fight against the school board. He did not identify the other groups, but Edward J. Grunewald, executive director of the North Florida Center for Equal Justice in Tallahassee was in the audience and seen leaving the meeting with Toney. The group’s web site states that it was created “to provide primarily the services that will most effectively address the housing and consumer problems that affect large numbers of the eligible population in the region”.
Mayor Freddie McCall asked Toney for a “ballpark figure” on a cost for his services.
“You will definitely get a monthly statement when the retainer is exhausted,” Toney said. The retainer he had offered to the town was at $8,000, but he provided no hourly rate or explanation as to how the retainer would be exhausted.
Dannheisser asked Toney — again — for a cost.
He replied that it would not be a “couple hundred thousand”, but that he could “not honestly say”.
Dannheisser suggested that the school board would immediately mediate if the town could demonstrate any legal basis for a claim, and he said that mediation would be relatively inexpensive.
“I would not be here today if I did not believe this was a legal case,” Toney said, adding that the board would be willing to mediate the case rather than facing him in court.
Toney then said that he was “not here to anwer questions from people that are not professionals”.
“The real question is whether we have a basis,” Brooks said. “Is it worth the taxpayer’s money that we are stewards of?”
Dannheisser then suggested that Toney provide the mayor with a legal memorandum explaining all costs for his legal services and expressing the legal basis for an action against the school board.
“The problem is that if I am going to spend that type of resources and time, I need to be compensated,” Toney said.
“I want to try to answer your questions,” Toney said. “I don’t want anyone to leave here today thinking I did not answer their questions.”
As for providing specific answers, Toney said “I did not want to do that in front of everyone here.”
He later added, “I did not come here to have this forum…I came here to talk to this council in closed session.”
Dannheisser pointed out that Florida’s Sunshine Law — a set of statutes that essentially states that government business in Florida must be conducted in open meetings — would forbid a private meeting between an attorney and client except in a few circumstances once litigation had been filed.
Council President Brooks again asked for a cost.
“Apparently cost is an issue,” Toney said, about 40 minutes after he was first asked for a cost estimate. “You want me to commit to you; you have to commit to me.”
Toney said he would provide the council with the legal memorandum for $4,000, an offer the council accepted on a 4-0 vote with council member Nadine McCaw absent from the meeting. That memorandum is due at the council’s next meeting on April 6, but Toney said it might take longer to prepare.
“We don’t want to give the impression that we don’t want to fight,” Brooks said. But as stewards of the town’s money, she said, the council has a constitutional obligation to spend money wisely.
“I am fighting for my granddaughter right now,” council member Sharon Scott said. “I don’t plan on sending her anywhere but Century.”
Just before the council meeting adjourned, the mayor offered some insight on how the town first made contact with Toney through the activist group Movement for Change.
“A money man in town started this,” McCall said. “He called these people into town and started this; then he turned them over to us to pay the bill.”
Prior to Toney’s arrivel, Dannheisser offered advice to his clients — the town.
He advised that he had been told the suit could cost the town $150,000 “or better” and that he was unaware of any merit for a legal claim against the school board.
Dannheiseer advised the council not to enter an open-ended agreement with any attorney, and that the town could be required to post a bond in state court in order to have a suit heard. He said that bond could cost the town $10,000 or more.
The only possible claim, Dannheisser said, might be based upon the school board’s failure to follow some required procedure in closing the school, such as a missed public notice or hearing.
“The school board could simply jump back through the hoops that they missed,” he said. “They could end up making the same decision that they have already made.”
Comments
45 Responses to “Century To Spend $4,000 To Find Out Lawyer’s Fee And Reasons To Fight Carver/Century Closure”
Freddie please tell me this is worth it. I certainly hope these guys haven’t bullied you into this. My instinct tells me this is a scam.
reader, there were enough students at carver century that scored so poorly on the FCATs, Carver got a big fat F on their school’s federal report card. and no, we can’t just leave them alone, and let them “get along”. if the principals at these receiving schools don’t identify and target them, then take remedial action, their school’s test scores are going to drop, plain and simple. the problem though is not with the student’s intelligence or perceived “behavioral problems”. it isn’t with the teachers or admin at carver either. it isn’t with the parents. the way i see it, the problem lies with this stupid NCLB law that we are all stuck with. it’s “one size fits all” mentality leaves alot of children behind, especially those from low socioeconomic status. so, let’s don’t “label” them? sorry, that has already been done. give them a fair shake and a chance? that is exactly what NCLB does not do. the principals at EW, bratt and byrneville hae their work cut out for them. let’s just see what happens the next year or two. oh and don’t think for a moment, that northview is going to bend over backwards to retain and graduate a high percentage of carver students either. not if there is a danger that those students will cause weaver’s school to get a “bad report card” and lose federal funding.
I think if we let the students know all the facts, they would reach the same decision to close carver century.. Kids are less judgmental than we adults, they are more accepting as well. The students from carver century will do fine in the other schools, they will make friends, they will perform well and those few who cause problems will be no different than the few that are already there causing problems. white, black, red, green, yellow or purple, color does not matter. give these kids a chance and let them alone to experience something new. I think the real issue is that folks are afraidd of change not about the school closing but what will happen next, playing a “what if” game. I think the what if’s in this case are merely carry over hate and discontent from days gone by. the school is closing, this is the end of a chapter, get over it. if you turn the page, a new chapter is about to begin. give it a chance and see how it goes. I look forward to welcoming these students into these other schools and hope they have greater success and better opportunities as a result of the change. I hope they get a better education than i did, as I am sure I have misspelled many words while typing my opinion.
Can’t the downgrading of students at the school not be a source of ammunition?
ALL students at CC are not and do not have behavior problems. ALL children at the other schools do not either nor are they ALL without behavior problems. I don’t think the children nor the employees being joined together will have any problems getting along with each other. But the comments I read on this site from parents is a real concern. Can’t we just leave them alone and let them get along? Let’s NOT label ANY of them!!! Give them a fair shake and a chance, not set them up for failure. Also, re: art, I doubt if every student at CC has a failing FCAT score just like I doubt that every student at the other locations has a high score. There has to be a balance.
“A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.” Luke 13:6-9
“And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.” Matthew 21:19
“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who listens to counsel is wise.”
Proverbs 12:15
Stupid, stupid, stupid and STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The more I read the more I agree that the town of Century needs to be no more!!
Good grief!!!!!
To Century Parent: You did not read that MY children did attend Carver/Century and the problems is the reason I pulled them!!! They have never been labled as trouble, they were welcomed, and they love it….and guess what I am not white!!!
To Century Parent—A lot of Century zoned children already attend these schools and have never been singled out or put down because of where they live. The difference is the administration and staff will not put up with a bunch of crap from children. They will treat them fairly and give them many opportunities for a better education, but they won’t put up with disrespect. If you truly want the best education for your children then Century AIN’T it.Trust me, I’ve had kids in both school systems, so I kind of know what I’m talking about.
Its dissapointing to lose a school yes.. but its also dissapointing to see elected officials wasting my tax dollars. This is a lose lose situation. Hey fine council members, maybe if you would get out and poll your constituents on their opinion instead of fighting for your own personal reasons such as one has said, you will have a better grasp of whether you should fight with our tax dollars or not. This guy was 20 minutes for starters, and will only tell you information if you pay him? What a joke.
Someone else making a fool out of the Leadership in Century. It is just too easy. I wonder if the State of Alabama and the Town of Flomaton would be willing to annex Century?
To Concerned ,
To answer your question NO I do not hate the other communties! But it seems to me that alot of people hate Century (including you ) But what makes you think that putting the kids from Century in other schools is going to make the behavior problems any better ? Are you now going to pull your kids out of Bratt and Ernest Ward because of the Century kids? People keep saying that the Century kids will be welcomed with open arms and we all know that is not true ! They will be labeled the troubled kids from Century. It is so sad to see this happen because alot of kids will not be given the chance they deserve because they are from Century ! I just PRAY that all the kids from all the communties can come together and make HAPPY memories that will last a lifetime !
It is very simple,the school will close. I ride through century every day and see many things that could be done with the money that is going to be spent on some hot shot attorney. Sounds like the good ole politicians are trying to create a political football.
Why don’t you all go to the council meeting and air your opinions.
This is an example of the people who have the heart of North Escambia County, but do they have the heart of God? What if God had to read this information, I wonder how he would respond. If the people of Century would come together and pray. God will deposit our blessing in serect places. Do we not know? He only deposit in the hearts of those who believes.
To Century Parent: Why is this a issue???? Do you hate all other communities? Do you think people owes Century something? and Why? Why do you think your community is better than anyone elses? Just take a look around at all the communties and you will see why people have move out of Century and into other communities….and I am so sorry to say that I once lived in Century but promissed I would never allow my kids to be raised in the drug infested area I was and wanted better for my children!!!! I am proud to say my children are in Carver/Century district but I have chosen to send them to Bratt and EWMS and will continue to as my children love it there, are happy, and they are able to learn without disruptive behavior by the students at Century/Carver.
What is the town of Century doing? Have we learned anything from the past? Citizens need to attend council meetings and speak up. the elected officials are supposed to be doing what is in the best interest of the community. as constituents we can demand action from them that matches what we want done. there is no reason to spend $4k on a quote. what the ! this is $4k of tax dollars. I am so sick of this dam stupid town and the fools who fall for the lines and the politicians. as for me, my personal solution is to move, which I am in the process of doing. I have spent my entire life here but it is time to move on as this place gets worse with each passing day. every politician from Escambia county uses century as a tool for the “I care so much speech” they get elected and then they never come to century, do anything for century, or even care about century. Perhaps Flomation Alabama will adopt the entire city and we will be free of the crap from Escambia County Florida.
Hey pay me $4.00 and I’ll put on letterhead that this entire council is full of crap. That’s my tax dollars you’re wasting on this $#%$^%, to tell us somthing that shouldn’t cost us anything. I have all the faith in the world in our mayor. It’s too bad our wonderful council members won’t set aside their own personal agendas and get behind him and our town.
After reading this saga !!!!!!!!!!
I feel I’ve gotten $4,000 worth of entertainment .
I can’t wait to see what I get for $8,000 .
This is hysterical !!
Laughter is good for the soul .
Keep it coming .
What’s next ????????????
People WAKE up !!!!!!! When they close Century / Carver they will send our kids to Bratt and Ernest Ward for a few years and then say they need a new school to hold all the kids ! The new school will be built on the west end of HWY 4 and Century will still have NO SCHOOL !!!! Your fight is not to keep Century /Carver open !! You better start looking at ways to get the new school built on Century’s end of HWY 4 !!!!!
This Tony guy sems to be a sharpee. The Towns Lawyer Mr. Dannheisser is as smart of a lawyer as they come. I believe Mr. Dannheisser could handle the case and solicit any other Lawer or agency as needed as good and this Tony guy can and give the Town a price as to what it would cost and not leave the council hanging. Why hire someone they do not know and sounds a little too slick. Anyone that is as arrogant of a person as he was to say that he did not come up to answer questions from anyone other than professinals when he is looking for a job working for the Town is too much of a ahole for me. I may not be a so-called professional but I am a person and expect to be treated as such reguardless as high and mighty as he may think he is.
To (!) Carver/Century may not be the only school that the County is closing but it is the only school in Century and this is the only school that matters to us…Thank you very much!!! You sound like someone that does not live in or care about Century anyway!
Now what the Town needs to make happen is to get Mr. Dannheisser to get on the ball and come up with something no later than May and summit it to the courts to get an Injunction on the closing and which will allow the school to still be open next school term and give the Town time to make a good or finish it’s case. Once the school closes its doors it will never be open again. Judges can be persuaded if things will happen quickly and the Case is presented strongly enough IT CAN HAPPEN!!!! Judges Will give time… An Injuction is the move to happen right now.
Why is century not using their own attorney for this? Why can centurys attorney not provide some sort of info on the legal aspects of this? If I had an attorney on retainer but had to hire another one for every other issue, he’d be fired. If no economic development has come with a school in place, what makes the attorney think that it will be any different with the school in place? Sounds like a con job to me.
With lawyers on every street corner, why did they pick this one? I think he “picked” them, more ways than one. I saw a group of fools and I took them in.
danger danger, red flag warning…this guy toney can’t answer direct questions unless you cough up 4g’s? nonononononono…the school will come back when industry comes to century. better save the moolah and spend it on attracting industry. in the meantime, the principals at the schools where these kiddos are being bussed will have their hands full trying to keep their new students ahead of the game so their FCAT scores don’t affect their respective schools “report card” to the Feds. if i were the principals i would boldly target these kids and motivate them to do their best despite being strangers at a new school. believe me, i have suspicion that the principals at earnest ward, bratt, and byrneville are non too happy about their new additions and the consequences they fear they will face with lower test scores. oh and guess who is suffering the most? the kids as usual.
William was right in his blog a week or two ago:
http://www.northescambia.com/?p=6991
Century Council’s Actions Were Just Plain Stupid
Apparently, Ann Brooks does not have any sense.
If you keep up with the local news, you know that Carver is not the only school being closed. Edgewater Elementary is also in danger of being closed. They are about to begin working on rezoning those students also if it passes by vote in the School Board.
Old Shell School in Baldwin County is also in danger of being closed. Teachers are being laid off everywhere across the country. This has little to do with Century. It’s a wide spread problem in dire economic times. You can’t get blood from a turnip!
If the funding is not there to run the school, you have to close it. And Carver-Century is the smallest school in the whole county. Why would they start cuting costs anywhere else?? You guys are beating a dead horse!
Note to Century Town Council: Don’t make decisions out of desperation where an attorney is involved. Have you watched the local TV Commercials?? Even personal injury attorneys offer a FREE/NO COST consultation.
…just a thought!
Just speechless! I have no words for what our council has just done. Ann Brooks leading the group…I thought she had more sense than this.
Send this charlatan packing and get to important issues. The school closing is good management on the Escambia School Board’s part.
I agree with everyone else. . .certainly no way to handle business, and running a town IS handling a business. With the way they’re going nobody will have to worry about the future. . . .because they’ll bankrupt the town of Century and will cease to exist on their own.
I would love more than anything to have carver k-8 to remain open. The Town of century is very desperate at this point and is willing to jump on the first thing smoking to keep the school open, and that can not happen, because we as the town will be robbed blind. this is a time where the whole town needs to come together wheater you have children or not and show the outsiders and some of the insiders that we are not as STUPID as they think we are. If an attorney can not provide proper information on the exact costs of his/her fees, then that is an eye opener all by itself. I could be wrong, but I think this lawyer thinks this is an easy way to get money, and we are falling for it.
I do feel that malcolm thomas had this plan in mind to close the school the whole time, but told us different so he would be elected, because we did no research and jumped on the fisrt thing smoking. That should be an example(by itself) to look deep b-4 you leap. Malcolm says his big thing is to save money. Maybe he need to take a pay cut, if it is really all about the children. How do he expect for a community to function, with no life of children. If you take the heart out of a human being, there is no life, the samething with a community. If you take the schools away, there is no life for the community. I would love for the TOWN OF CENTURY to win this case, but I don’t think that we should be drained dry in the process.
Why do I think his fees will amount to more than it would cost to fully fund the school for a year or more…
When are we going to wake up and realize that this is just a small part of the big picture to do away with the Town of Century. The writing has been on the wall for several years now and here lately it is getting more plain to see. In the last year, things are becoming so clear as to the reason behind everything. Who’s to say that the people that want to see this happen isn’t behind this lawyer as well, to drain Century’s money even more. Wake up Century, get a backbone and take a stand!!! – or the sign coming from over the overpass may say “Welcome to Pensacola City Limit”. No longer Escambia County Sherrifs Dept., but “Pensacola Sherriffs Office” – and on and on with the changes. Example: Jacksonville Florida. Why all the time, we still get the shaft. Why not keep on getting shafted while we still have our town. WAKE UP!!!
All of you nay sayers need to quite whining. This is called spreading the wealth!!
I’m sure this poor attorney needs this $4000 to make his next beachfront condo or Mercedes payment.
I’m speechless! 4,000 to get a fee schedule .I think this attorney thinks Century is just a bunch of ignorant, backwoods, stupid people. You know what else? I think our council might just be proving him right. This will be a bottomless money pit and I’m sure it will turn into a nasty racial defense.Our town doesn’t need this. People it’s over, we knew this day would come when they closed the high school. Get over it and encourage your children to embrace the” change”. They just might discover they really love their new schools.
Mr. Toney comments on the economic factor of the vendors not shopping in Century. The only vendors delivering to the school are the school district, occasional food service trucks, and UPS. Maybe the delivery drivers stop at Whataburger. Dynamic impact loss! If this saga were on Saturday Night Live we would laugh. The Council would be better buying FL lottery tickets. At least they would be supporting education and have some chance of recovering their money. I would have thought the Council , with their limited funds, would turn elsewhere for assistance. This will become the proverbial race issue. The locals have not supported the school and it is gone. The statistics support this statement. That is why the District closed it. Again, the adage of “Don’t confuse me with facts, my mind is made up!” applies here. This is so sad.
Low life, sleazy, scum bag lawyers are the root of most of evil that occurs and is allowed to persist in this country.
1) They have putrefied the CRIMINAL justice system to fit their own needs (more fees for 25 year long cases).
2) Most of our legislators are scum sucking, bottom dwelling, attorney thieves as well.
The advice is 400 years old and is as good today as when Shakespeare first said it – “First, kill all the attorneys”.
For this guy to require $4,000 to give a price for his services is BS. You want a shot at making a few hundred thousand dollars – open your stupid mouth and tell us the price for FREE you SHYSTER.
Then to teach this miscreant piece a lessen – go hire someone else.
Hey Century…. Send me a check for $10,000 and I will write you a letter asking that we maybe consider posibally thinking about bringing the Electric Car operation to Century…. If they say no… it will only cost another $20,000 for me to write a letter and say “PLEASE”…. If they say yes… it will only cost 56% of GROSS revenue of the plant for me to write a letter and say ” THANK YOU”…. Obviously it is NOT a requirement to actually BRING your BRAIN with you to the council meetings..
Oh my gosh, can’t anyone stand up and say, “I don’t care if I lose the next election, I can’t vote to give this shyster $4000 for a proposal.” Obviously the only thing he is going to play is the race card. The judge will throw it out and taxpayers will be out $$$.
No this will not end because it has be come a civil rights issue so sad.This school closure is a economic issue,and there are more to come.Escambia County has to many small schools in operation and the cost is terrible.The kids don’t travel any further to school than our kids do in Molino.Granted we need more and larger schools in the north end of the county.Right now we need to deal with our economic problems and when we get on our feet then rebuild the system the correct way.
along with sidestepping all monetary issues and no legal basis, when pressed Mr. Toney answered “and some civil rights stuff” , which translated means, if we don’t get our way through a legal basis for the school’s closure, then we will extort the system with, “the race card”! this has a rotten smell that will cost all of us money!!!!
This is like buying a car before you know the price!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am concerned that the town of Century is being ripped off by some slick lawyer and Movement for Change.
“SUCKERS!” is what I see stamped on the foreheads of the town’s government. Century has swallowed this con-game: hook, line and sinker! Council members should be asking themselves, what has this guy been doing for the past week; couldn’t he have at least come up with a basis for litigation, a fee schedule and a draft plan for presentation to the council? Now for $4,000 the town will get a letter, what a deal. This a letter that should’ve been provided up front for free because lawyers do work “pro bono” to help out the poor.
I think this statement from the news article sums up this situation: “You will definitely get a monthly statement when the retainer is exhausted,’ Toney said. …but he provided no hourly rate or explanation as to how the retainer would be exhausted.” How long do you all think it’ll take to use up the money with no way to track performance? Lets see, two trips to Century $2,500; spend less than an hour in front of the town council $1,500; NO PLAN – PRICELESS!!
Good grief…. for $4000 I will write up what I would like to do to the ECSB too!
I’d like to make a prediction:
This will not end well.