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Schools

Hernando board chooses Lee County schools' attorney

J. Paul Carland II, whose father lives in Holiday, edges out two other lawyers vying for the position.

By ABHI RAGHUNATHAN
Published April 23, 2005

BROOKSVILLE - Hernando School Board members on Thursday picked J. Paul Carland II, a lawyer with several years of experience representing Lee County schools, as their top choice for board attorney.

After they interviewed the three finalists vying to become their first full-time attorney, board members said they were impressed with the scope of the litigation Carland had handled while working for Lee schools. They selected Michael Dyer, who has represented the Volusia and Monroe county school boards, as their second choice. Gary Eckstine, an attorney who has represented the city of Jacksonville, came in third.

While discussing the three candidates, several board members said they needed an attorney who was well versed in school law. Board members felt that Hernando was growing too quickly to hire a lawyer who might need a year of tutelage.

"I was impressed with Mr. Carland's answers," School Board Vice Chairman Jim Malcolm said. "He just had more school board stuff."

Still, board members stressed that they were impressed with all three applicants. Several board members declared that it was difficult to choose between Carland and Dyer, whom they dubbed top-notch candidates.

The gushing comments by board members on Thursday contrasted dramatically with how unimpressed they were with the first three applicants who interviewed to become School Board attorney in February. After meeting those three applicants, board members took a few minutes to declare that they needed to advertise again to solicit a new batch of applicants.

The board must still sign Carland to a contract. Chairman Robert Wiggins will handle the negotiations with the assistance of outgoing board attorney Karen Gaffney, who also has a private practice.

Carland, 39, received his law degree from Nova Southeastern in 1991. In addition to handling juvenile dependency and child welfare cases for the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, he has worked in private practice.

Since 2001, Carland has been a full-time attorney for Lee County schools, a district with more than three times as many students as Hernando. In his cover letter, Carland said he was interested in coming to Hernando County "to advance my career by assuming the lead counsel role as board attorney."

Carland has family in the area. His father, J. Paul Carland Sr., drove up from Holiday to watch his son's interview before the School Board.

Abhi Raghunathan can be reached at araghunathan@sptimes.com or 352-848-1431.

[Last modified April 23, 2005, 00:54:19]