Church, Church, Hittle and Antrim (CCHA) has been the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District’s law firm for as long as I have covered the board, and that goes back 11 years.  Some say the relationship goes back as much as 16 years.

That all came to an end Wednesday night when the HSE School Board awarded the law contract to Indianapolis firm Barnes & Thornburg.  The vote was 5-2, with Sarah Donsbach and Sarah Parks-Reese voting no.

Before the vote was taken, former school board member Michelle Fullhart urged the board to postpone the vote, arguing that there was a lack of feedback from school administrators and one of the three bids was not provided to the public online.  That did not deter the board from moving on to the vote..

Sarah Parks-Reese cited an increase in legal costs as one reason for voting no.  Sarah Donsbach says there was no reason “for drastic change” in law firms.