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<\/p>\nJACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Action News Jax has learned that the Office of General Counsel (OGC), the legal arm of Jacksonville\u2019s consolidated government, double-billed Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) for over $334,000 in legal fees – an error that was only discovered following an internal audit by the school district.<\/p>\n
The billing discrepancy includes $290,000 in legal services and $44,000 in charges from the Risk Management Department, with the double billing beginning in December 2024. According to documents obtained by Action News Jax Ben Becker, DCPS notified the OGC of the issue in June, and the OGC acknowledged the mistake. General Counsel Michael Fackler said his office failed to \u201cclear out\u201d previous billing. <\/p>\n
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DCPS legal counsel double-billing <\/p>\n
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DCPS legal counsel double-billing <\/p>\n
The revelation comes at a critical time. The Duval County School Board is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a pivotal resolution that would allow the district to hire its own in-house legal counsel – setting the stage to end a long-standing arrangement with the city\u2019s OGC.<\/p>\n
If the School Board approves the measure, it will move to City Council for consideration. The proposed change requires an amendment to the city charter, which would also need approval by the Florida Legislature – a process that could take up to a year.<\/p>\n
A source close to the situation tells Becker the change could potentially also be politically motivated, as General Counsel Fackler\u2019s office\u2019s interpretation of the law could be considered too progressive and not constitutionally focused.<\/p>\n
Background: What is the Office of General Counsel?<\/b><\/p>\n
The OGC is a powerful entity with 46 attorneys serving all branches of Jacksonville\u2019s consolidated government. Their clients include:<\/p>\n
The School Board, however, is the only public school system in the state of Florida that does not select its own legal counsel – a point that is driving momentum for change.<\/p>\n
[DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cA Clear Message from DCPS\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n City Council President Kevin Carrico weighed in on the development, calling it \u201ca clear message\u201d from the School Board and its supporters.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t go as far as saying that this dismantles the premise of the OGC\u2019s position in consolidated government. The unique characteristic of the school board is that the city council doesn\u2019t approve their budget. It\u2019s a clear message though from DCPS and supporters of the bill that the OGC continues to fall short of passing the grade.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time City Council and Fackler have appeared to butt heads, including the removal of confederate monuments<\/a>, a separation of powers opinion<\/a> regarding a trash contract and an alleged illegal gun registry.<\/a><\/p>\n School Board Members Voice Support<\/b><\/p>\n District 7 School Board Member Melody Bolduc detailed several reasons for supporting the move to independent legal counsel – citing cost efficiency, governance independence, and concerns about conflicts of interest within the OGC structure.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year alone, our school district was billed over $2 million by the Office of General Counsel (OGC). By contrast, peer school districts across Florida that employ their own in-house legal teams typically operate with budgets in the low hundreds of thousands,\u201d Bolduc wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cWe discovered that OGC double-billed the district for two months last year – a mistake that would have gone undetected without close scrutiny.\u201d<\/p>\n She also emphasized that the School Board is an independently elected constitutional authority, unlike many of the other entities represented by the OGC.<\/p>\n \u201cThis proposal is not a rejection of consolidation itself, but a thoughtful attempt to ensure that the School Board \u2026 has timely, focused, and impartial legal guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n Bolduc says Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier has negotiated a new deal for the next school year with Fackler, allowing the district to pay a salary for its OGC attorney instead of an hourly rate.<\/p>\n Action News Jax reached out to the Office of General Counsel for comment but has not received a response.<\/p>\n