Consent decree consultant bill drops by half
The April bill from the Educational Planning Group dropped by half compared to the March billing cycle and falls within the proposed hours per month set forth in the budget.
EPG is a Jackson, Mississippi-based consulting firm hired by the Monroe City School Board to oversee elements of the consent decree approved by U.S. District Judge Robbie James in December. The bill for March, submitted April 8, totaled $30,590.79. The first bill, submitted March 1, covered Dec. 17 through Feb. 29 for a total cost of $49.791.50.
For April, EPG billed $14,419.88. Nycole Campbell-Lewis, the independent court monitor, billed 36.5 hours that cost $4.563 in total. Ritha Bookert, the medical magnet expert, billed 21.95 hours that cost $2,744, and Hazel Henderson, the curriculum expert, billed 47.9 hours that cost $5,988. Each subcontractor makes $125 an hour.
Meals cost $320 total. Campbell-Lewis traveled four days, and Bookert and Henderson traveled two days. Total mileage costs were $806.15.
On April 6, Campbell-Lewis noted discussions with Superintendent Brent Vidrine regarding missing data components required for the quarterly report.
Campbell-Lewis and Bookert met with Vidrine, the principal of Carroll High School, the head of the Carroll Medical Magnet program and board Vice President Brenda Shelling on April 29 to ensure that Bookert's recommendations have been fully implemented.
Previous analysis of EPG bills seemed to show that EPG was charging for hours being traveled between Jackson and Monroe, a method that would cost the district more than $1,400 before any work was done on site, assuming full expenses were being paid for all three consultants.
Additionally, the previous bills charged no partial billing hours.
The most recent bill lists meetings in Monroe and charges significantly less time billed per meeting than did previous invoices. It also contains partial-hour billing down to .05 hours, which is about 3 minutes.
On Dec. 15, the majority of the Monroe City School Board voted to hire EPG for positions required by the consent decree. On Dec. 17, board President Rodney McFarland said because of contention over the vote, board members would have the opportunity to submit other candidates and revote at the Jan. 7 meeting. On Jan. 7, the majority of the board again voted to hire EPG.
To date, the district has paid $94,802 for hours billed starting in mid-December, including $19,000 for the period from Dec. 17 to Jan. 7, when the EPG was not employed by the district.
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