Central Bucks School District paying McSwain $940 an hour to investigate alleged anti-LGBTQ bias

The Central Bucks School District is paying former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain $940 an hour to address allegations it has created a hostile environment for LGBTQ students.

According to the district’s agreement with the Duane Morris law firm — hired by the district to respond to a complaint filed in October by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania with the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education and conduct an internal investigation — Central Bucks will pay a second attorney, Michael Rinaldi, also a former federal prosecutor, $640 an hour.

“We expect that Mr. Rinaldi will bill a larger number of hours than I will,” McSwain wrote in the agreement for legal services, dated Nov. 1 and signed by district superintendent Abram Lucabaugh and board president Dana Hunter. McSwain noted that his and Rinaldi’s rates “are at a discount to our normal hourly rates.”

The district, which provided the agreement this week in response to a Right-to-Know request filed by The Inquirer, said some of the costs would be covered by its insurance. It did not respond to a follow-up question Friday about its insurance carrier’s approved rates and what portion would be additionally borne by taxpayers.

School districts generally carry insurance to defend against a range of claims, including discrimination. Insurance companies often may supply districts with a panel of attorneys to choose from, at rates approved by the company.

In a statement provided by Devine & Partners, a public relations firm hired by the district this summer, Central Bucks didn’t address whether it had the option to use attorneys selected through its insurance. But it said that responding to the “ACLU complaint (and any related complaints) is a priority for the district that requires specialized expertise. Both Bill McSwain and Michael Rinaldi of Duane Morris have decades of investigative experience and are well suited to serve and advise the district as it works to ensure a safe learning environment for all students.”

The complaint alleges a “chronic” failure by the district to address bullying and harassment of LGBTQ students.

It also faults “the school board majority elected in November 2021,” who, “joined by complicit upper-level administrators, have exacerbated the hostile environment by making homophobic and transphobic statements, enacting blatantly discriminatory practices and policies targeting LGBTQ+ students, and retaliating against teachers and staff who support LGBTQ+ students.”

Among the discriminatory actions taken by the board and administrators, according to the ACLU: describing pride flags as political symbols and directing their removal from classrooms; instructing teachers to not use a student’s preferred pronouns or name without parental consent; suspending a teacher for helping a transgender student file a complaint with the federal Office of Civil Rights; and passing a library book policy targeting “sexualized content,” in what the ACLU called a “thinly disguised effort to censor LGTBQ+ themed materials.”

The federal Education Department has opened an investigation into the complaint, which was filed on behalf of seven Central Bucks students. Their names and personal stories are redacted from the 72-page document.

Central Bucks has called on the ACLU to release the names of the students, arguing that not knowing their identities has hindered the district’s ability to investigate the complaint.

On Friday, the district said that the Education Department also has refused to disclose names, which it called “irrelevant” to the investigation, according to Central Bucks.

“Unfortunately, both the ACLU and the Department of Education have placed a roadblock in this process, increasing the complexity of the Duane Morris investigation and forcing additional legal costs,” the district said. “Our only choice is to continue with the investigation to get to the bottom of things and put students first.”

The Education Department did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Sara Rose, deputy legal director of the ACLU of PA, said that “given the hostile environment that the district has created for LGBTQ students and the district’s failure to take any action to remedy the environment, it is not surprising that the department would have concerns about sharing the names of the complainants with the district.”

Some parents and community members have questioned the rationale for hiring McSwain, a Republican who ran for governor this year — noting his prior statements and actions related to LGBTQ issues. While campaigning, McSwain referred to a West Chester school’s Gender-Sexuality Alliance club as “leftist political indoctrination,” pledging, “This ends when I’m governor.” (He later deleted those comments from Facebook.)

McSwain also represented a local Boy Scouts group more than a decade ago while it faced eviction by the City of Philadelphia over the organization’s refusal to admit gay members.

“You’re hiring a costly lawyer with very political views,” Laura Napier, a parent from Buckingham, said during the Nov. 15 school board meeting in which the board voted 6-3 to hire McSwain. “You’re taking money from our taxes, the community’s taxes. You’re taking our children’s money for their educational needs and support and spending more of it on defending your poor choices.”

Duane Morris did not comment Friday on questions about the firm’s fees.

The firm isn’t the only outside help retained by the district, which has garnered national attention over heated school board conflicts. Devine & Partners, a Philadelphia-based public relations firm, was hired in part because Central Bucks was receiving “a much higher volume of media inquiries,” the district said in its statement Friday. It also cited community requests for more communication and a desire “to inform school families and residents about the accomplishments and good work of CBSD students and staff.”

A proposal by Devine & Partners in June estimated a budget of $15,000 a month, running from July 2022 through June 2023.

Noting its enrollment of more than 17,000 students, placing it among Pennsylvania’s largest districts, Central Bucks said it had one staff member dedicated to communications and one to producing video. Using Devine & Partners “allows CBSD to engage a highly qualified communications team at a lower cost than adding additional employees,” it said.

The district did not address how much Duane Morris has billed so far, but said invoices would be posted to board meeting agendas for approval “as they are received.”

In hiring Duane Morris, the school board put on hold for further review a proposed policy that would prohibit classroom “decor” pertaining to sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, or politics, and teacher discussion on those topics unless it is specific to class curriculum.

The board is expected to consider a revised version of the policy at a meeting Wednesday.