MANHEIM, Pa. — The Penn Manor School Board voted 5-4 to reconsider hiring the Independence Law Center as pro-bono legal counsel after it had previously rejected the conservative law firm in June.
The board had voted 5-4 to not hire the ILC on June 18.
Board member Matthew Beakes, who previously voted against the hiring, brought up the item in front of the board, saying that he had voted against hiring the ILC in June due to a lack of discussion at that meeting.
Beakes seemingly acknowledged the risk of legal liability in drafting policies supported by the ILC in his remarks.
"If we are going to be sued. I would rather be sued with policy rather than no policy," Beakes said. "I would rather be sued with legal experience on our side, rather than a firm that is on the fence. This would be like putting a kid in who is only there because he is forced to by his parents. The kid who shows up, practices hard and has a track record is who we would want to defend us, should this come to a lawsuit. Either way, we're going to be sued."
Board member Anthony Lombardo criticized Superintendent Philip Gale over an email he sent to the board advising them to vote against the ILC, saying its policies would single out LGBTQ+ students. That email was accessed through an open records request by Lancaster Online.
Other board members argued that hiring the ILC would create unnecessary division within the school district.
"We have a very large public school with a very diverse group of students and educators, and it has worked fantastically as an educational process for the students to learn from each other, the educators to learn from the students, and we don't want to take steps that will limit that in any way," said board member Christopher Straub.
The Independence Law Center has made headlines throughout central Pennsylvania this year for being hired by numerous school boards as pro bono counsel.
The law firm, which is a branch of the Christian conservative Pennsylvania Family Institute, is known for advising and drafting policy for school boards pertaining to cultural issues in schools such as whether students can use their preferred pronouns, which books can be read in school libraries, or whether transgender students can use bathrooms or play on a sports team aligning with their gender.
The board will vote on whether to add the hiring of the ILC to its voting agenda on Aug. 19.