School Committee Chairman John Coyne said Bryan Dench of Skelton, Taintor and Abbott in Auburn sounded confident that he could produce a report before the Sept. 6 deadline that the two of them set in a meeting earlier this week.
"He didn't seem to think it would take that long, and I'd like to get it done and over with and put it to bed," Coyne said.
The school board is hinging its next moves on Dench's findings.
Coyne, who was authorized by the panel to hire Dench, said he will not act on public calls for Superintendent Mary Jo O'Connor's resignation before getting the report.
"I don't anticipate any personnel changes during this investigation," Coyne said.
In an Aug. 9 letter to Coyne, Dench said he would work for $225 an hour. Coyne said charges will not top $10,000, which is the equivalent of about 44 hours.
Coyne said Dench began retrieving information from the panel's legal counsel this week and is planning to interview up to two dozen people.
Interview subjects, according to Coyne, could include O'Connor, senior school staff, School Committee members and employees at the city's finance department, which took over the school budget in the wake of the deficit.
Also likely to be on the list, Coyne said, is the school's former finance director, Richard Paulson, who resigned July 30.
Dench, however, has yet to begin interviewing personnel, according to the city's assistant finance director, Ellen Sanborn, and Sue Ward, an assistant to the school superintendent.
Dench did not return several phone calls seeking comment.
His clients range from the Lewiston Sun Journal to the Androscoggin County commissioners.
But it is Dench's specialty in school law that will be particularly valuable to the investigation, a fellow lawyer said.
"The statutes that apply to schools and school employees are similar to state statute, but they're not the same," said Melissa Hewey of Drummond Woodsum, who represents the Portland School Committee.
Dench, 58, has represented school boards in towns such as Lewiston and Sanford on personnel matters such as collective bargaining, grievance arbitrations and discipline cases involving teachers and other school personnel, according to his resume.
He is serving his second term as chairman of the Maine Council of School Board Attorneys.
Dench's other clients have included the towns of Turner, Leeds, Sabattus and Poland, where he lives.
He also has acted as counsel to sanitation and water districts.
Anne Marie Mastraccio has worked with him as a member of the Sanford School Board and Town Council.
In December, Dench conducted an internal investigation involving a Sanford councilor accused of using her office to get out of a traffic ticket.
"He's really good at gathering facts and putting them in front of you and letting you make the decision," said Mastraccio, the council chairwoman.
"He'll give you advice, but say, 'It's not my job during an investigation to tell you what to do.'"
The council decided not to take action against the councilor, who later resigned, Mastraccio said.
Dench was picked in part because he is based outside of Portland, Coyne said.
James Phipps, a partner in the law firm Preti Flaherty in Portland, said it is common practice to find independent investigators from outside the community.
"They're not previously acquainted with the people involved, so it's easier to take a fresh look without having much in the way of baggage to bring into the situation," he said.
A Harvard University graduate, Dench attended the University of Maine School of Law in Portland and joined his firm in 1975.
He has taught business planning and labor law at the law school.
Staff Writer Josie Huang can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:
jhuang@pressherald.com
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