CUMBERLAND — The total amount the school district spends for legal and human resources services has risen by over $31,000 since Joseph A. Rotella was hired to serve both roles five years ago, a report generated by the district finds.

In his first year in office, 2003-2004, the district spent a total of $92,356 on the services; this year, 2007-08, that number is $123,945, which includes outside legal work.

Rotella said that the amount is still less than the $124,755 the district spent on those services in 2000. “In an eight-year span, [the department is] not spending any more in legal fees, and you have a full-time HR and legal counsel that [provides] good service,” he said.

The report comes at the request of School Committee member Karen Macbeth, who has questioned the propriety of having Rotella serve the dual role of district legal counsel and human resources director, which earned him $99,013 in 2007-2008.

Macbeth criticized the district’s increasing reliance on outside legal counsel, despite having Rotella in office. She said there are too many instances when Rotella’s job as district legal counsel conflicts with his job as human resources director. She is advocating that the district split the duties.

“If he [Rotella] can’t be our legal expert, then what are we doing with this job title,” she said. “I also have issue with him talking with employees as human resource director and then talking with the School Committee about the same issue as its legal counsel. I find that is a conflict of interest.”

School Committee member David Wagner, who chairs the Finance Subcommittee, said he disagrees: “I truly don’t believe the numbers back her up. I believe they show that [Rotella] does save us money.”

Wagner said that rising legal costs are simply due to more lawsuits. Without Rotella, the district’s legal fees would be much greater because the district would have to enlist outside counsel for every legal issue, not just the major ones, he maintains.

“Everything is far more litigious now,” said Wagner. “The situation is at the point where lawsuits seem to be the answer rather than a negotiated settlement.”

LAST NIGHT, the School Committee was expected to review the four-page report, which was generated by Rotella and District Business Manager Alex Prignano and shows the district’s legal and human resources costs over the past eight years.

According to the report, in 2001-2002 (the school year before Rotella was hired) the total cost for legal and human resources services at the district was $116,037, which included a portion of the $46,999 salary for Human Resources Director Dianne Ady (who left at the end of the year) and $88,710 in fees to law firm Powers and Kinder.

Rotella was hired as district HR/Legal counsel on June 16, 2003 after 24 years working for the City of Providence, where he had served from 1976-1988 as assistant city solicitor and from 1988-2000 as legal counsel for the School Department.

In 2002-2003, the district spent $69,813 for legal and human resources services, including $66,582 in fees to law firm Powers Kinder and Keeney of Providence and $3,231 to Rotella for a month of service.

The following fiscal year –– the first full year of Rotella’s employment –– he earned a salary of $84,000. The district also paid an additional $8,356 to Powers Kinder and Keeney, bringing the total for legal and human resources costs to $92,356.

In 2004, costs dropped to $88,916; however by 2005 they were up to $105,055. They have continued on an upward trend since.

Legal and human resources costs reached a peak of $129,956 in 2006-07. The district hired four separate outside legal counsels and also paid for a state Department of Education-appointed mediator while covering Rotella’s $92,156 salary.

With less than two months left in this fiscal year, the district has spent $123,945 for legal and human resources services, with about $25,000 of that going to legal firms. Wagner says the district is on track to spend, at most, $40,000 in outside fees.

This year’s legal costs are tied to three issues in which Rotella has a conflict of interest.

One of those is a lawsuit levied by former teacher William Hicks in which Rotella is a plaintiff. The district has so far paid law firm St. Peter and Kasle $10,050 toward the suit.

The district also paid St. Peter and Kasle $9,043 for its handing of negotiations with the teacher’s union in the summer regarding changes in the district’s health-care provider.

“Those negotiations resulted in a $600,000 savings for the district,” Rotella said. “If you ask me if it is worth a few thousand dollars to invest in something that will save hundreds of thousands of dollars over time, the answer is yes.”

pmarcelo@projo.com