NJ Education Report

Last week the Lakewood Public Schools District reappointed Michael Inzelbuch to continue on as its attorney through June 2023 at his current annual “retainer” of $600,000.

Of course, that’s not all of Inzelbuch’s income from the school district: he also charges taxpayers (state and local) an hourly charge of $475 for “litigation services,” which the Lakewood School Board considers “outside” his regular duties. (That’s an increase of 35% from his 2017 hourly rate of $350 but who’s counting.)

And those litigation services are not small potatoes. Inzelbuch’s typical annual pay-out is over a million dollars per year, although he’s recently become somewhat less profligate in his billing practices. In October the Asbury Park Press reported that one month’s worth of litigation services came to $170,000, turning his princely $50K monthly retainer into a pittance, but by the end of 2021 the average cost of Inzelbuch’s “litigation services” was only $65,309 a month.

“The notion that a district that is struggling to find dollars to educate its students is laying out (hundreds of thousands of dollars) to its attorney,” said Paul Trachtenberg, “is obscene and immoral as far as I am concerned.”

Here’s the full item from the Lakewood school board agenda:

Move to reappoint General Counsel, Michael I. Inzelbuch’s contract from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.

Inzelbuch shall be engaged by the Board as General Counsel for the period of July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2023 at the annualized retainer of $600,000.00, and payable in equal monthly payments of $50,000.00, plus costs, if applicable, commencing August 1, 2022 (for the period of July 2022) and thereafter paid monthly through July of 2023 for the period of June 2023.  Payment will be made on the first day of each month succeeding the month worked.  There will be no charge for hours worked in excess of the $50,000.00 monthly retainer.

In addition, Inzelbuch shall be compensated at the hourly rate of $475.00 for any litigation services, payable monthly, upon presentation of detailed logs documenting litigation services.