MARIETTA - In a lengthy and heated discussion on Thursday night, board members debated Dr. John Crooks' request for reimbursement of the legal funds he spent during an unsuccessful attempt to recall him. Ultimately, the board voted to table the item and wait for a legal opinion on the compensation.

Crooks on Thursday requested that the board reimburse him $41,000, explaining to his collogues that he is asking for his money back in accordance with administrative rule EIB, which says that if a board member or district employee incurs legal expenses while doing their job, the district will pay for those expenses. Crooks told the Journal on Monday night that the money will not come from the district's general fund, but from a self-insurance fund - money the district sets aside each year for insurance purposes.

But the conversation got heated when board member Dr. John Abraham asked Crooks why he hadn't come to the board before deciding to hire an attorney for the recall proceedings to ask if board members would agree to pay for his fees.

"Why didn't you come to this board and ask, 'If I was going to do this, would you pay for it?'" Abraham asked Crooks. "By asking the board prior to this, I don't know what we would have said, but you didn't even think of saying this."

Crooks replied: "That's not true, John. That's not true at all."

But Abraham countered: "I don't remember you coming to the board - either in executive session or outside - asking that if we were to do this."

"That's not true, John," Crooks said again.

"OK, then I must have been asleep," Abraham said.

When Cash chimed in, Crooks replied to her that he had had a conversation with her about it.

Eventually Crooks said he had asked to put the reimbursement item on the agenda several times prior to Thursday night's agenda, but was told by Crowder-Eagle that they needed to get through the budget before addressing his legal expenses.

To this explanation, both board member Holli Cash and Crowder-Eagle stated that was still after the recall efforts.

Crooks further admitted that he had originally sought legal advice from the district's attorney, Glenn Brock, who Crooks has previously blamed for getting him into the recall mess in the first place. While Brock told Crooks it would be a conflict of interest to represent him, he also advised Crooks to not seek legal counsel for the situation, since many recalls don't end up succeeding.

Crooks stayed for the first portion of the debate to explain his situation and answer questions, but left before the vote, when even more discussion ensued about his legal fees.

The only board member to openly and seemingly support Crooks was David Banks. Banks argued that he and the other board members knew all along that Crooks was fighting the recall efforts in court and that at no point did anyone on the board tell him to stop moving forward with the suit.

"This board never said, stop, don't do it, it never gave any direction," Banks said. "So we really, by default, let Dr. Crooks continue on with his legal fees; we never said no, we never said stop."

But Cash said she didn't see it as her responsibility or any of her business to offer her opinion in Crooks' legal dealings.

"The reason for me was, the fact that I didn't think it was about the board," Cash countered. "This was about Mr. Crooks ... and Mr. Crooks' decision to challenge ... At some time it became about him and not his job as a board member."

The board eventually voted 5-1, with Banks dissenting to table the decision for reimbursement and seek legal advice from Brock, Clay, Calhoun and Rogers on whether or not there were previous rulings involving such situations. Crooks returned to the meeting once it concluded, but declined to comment to the Journal.

The efforts to remove Crooks from office began after a July 2009 school board meeting, when the board member called for a vote to allow a 150-foot cell tower to be built at Eastvalley Elementary School, a proposal many parents and residents opposed as an unsafe eyesore. Crooks placed the cell tower matter on the board's agenda the day of the July meeting, after he claims Brock gave him the OK. Several families then filed suit against the school district, arguing that the board violated state Open Meetings Act by failing to give proper notice of the vote. Later, Carrie Nicholas-Welkis, an east Cobb mom, led the recall effort, arguing that Crooks intentionally misled the public by not giving notice of the vote.

While the meeting lasted longer than three hours, and the debate about Crooks' legal fees took up about 45 minutes, Superintendent Fred Sanderson only spent about 60 seconds discussing the results of data from the Adequate Yearly Progress report, which was released on Monday. He congratulated the three Cobb Schools that emerged from the dreaded Needs Improvement list - Cooper, Smitha and Griffin middle schools - and said Dr. Judi Jones, chief accountability and research officer, and her staff will be analyzing the results of the AYP report and presenting them to the board within the next few days. Crowder-Eagle told the Journal that the board will be further discussing the results of AYP at its board work session Aug. 11.

The board also briefly discussed preliminary plans for its hiring of a new superintendent. At the board's June 24 meeting, Sanderson announced his retirement, effective June 2011, when his contract with the district expires.

Crowder-Eagle gave each board member a survey that asked for their thoughts on what qualities they want in a new chief of schools, and opinions on setting a timeline for the investigation and hiring of a new superintendent. She reiterated that the board is simply laying out its direction in the hiring process and has no plans yet to employ someone.

In other board business:

* The board voted 6-1, with Alison Bartlett dissenting to set the millage rate for fiscal year 2011 at the same net rate it was last year, 18.9 mills. At its June 9 meeting, the board approved its $819.4 million balanced budget at a set rate of 20.0 mills, the maximum rate for the state. But at its May 27 meeting, the board declared $23.6 million leftover from the second Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax as excess to be used to buy down the millage rate. The excess proceeds equate to a reduction of 1.10 mills, which means the millage rate can be bought down to 18.9 mills.

* Two firms presented audits to the board for both SPLOST II and III for the calendar year 2009. While the Marietta-based firm Moore and Cubbage did the audit of the older SPLOST, SPLOST III was audited by a Gainesville, Ga. firm, Bates and Carter. District Chief Financial Officer Mike Addison said the district put the audit contract for SPLOST III out for bid in 2009 and that Bates and Carter was the lowest bid at $10,000 per year. The contract for Moore and Cubbage is significantly more expensive at $32,000 per year. The board never approved a contract for Bates and Carter, because Addison said the bid was well under the $200,000 annual expenditure threshold requiring board approval.

* The board also approved the personnel report in a 7-0 vote. One of the items in the report was the resignation of Michelle Luckett, Sanderson's executive assistant. During a break in the meeting Luckett told the Journal she was resigning from her post to teach two history classes at North Cobb High School and working part-time as an administrator there. She said her move was for personal reasons, noting that she wanted to spend more time with her two children, who are 8 and 12. She did say, however that she won't rule out a future career in administration or at central office. "I've been very fortunate, I've had a great experience," Luckett said. "I understand what it's like to run a district of this magnitude now. But you get one chance to raise your kids."