DEAR EDITOR:

I read with dismay, not amusement, that the MDJ endorses Dr. John Crooks' request that the Cobb school board reimburse him for legal fees he incurred while fighting the unsuccessful recall effort. The argument seems to be that because the board conspired with him to place the cell tower vote on the agenda, without notice to the public, and attorney Glen Brock concurred with this sleight-of-hand, reimbursement of Crooks' legal expenses is somehow justified.

The MDJ also muses that it might be in order for the $41,000 legal bill to be deducted from Glen Brock's supernumerary consideration. Really? Lots of luck.

Payment of a member's legal fees by the board is supposed to be only for acts of that member in the performance of his official duties. It is indeed a specious argument for Crooks to contend that his secretive cell tower agenda insertion, which prompted the recall effort, was in furtherance of his official duties, even though it was aided and abetted by such worthies as Abraham and Brock.

Dr. Crooks' decision to hire a lawyer to defend what he considered to be scurrilous charges was his alone. The fact that the board joined with him in his cell-tower shenanigan is a separate matter. If the board, in its wisdom, decides to reimburse Crooks' legal fees, this will set a precedent for any mal, mis, or non-feasance by any board member to be underwritten by payment of legal fees however incurred, whether or not sonorously endorsed by the board's' own mouthpiece!

Bill Bruner
Marietta