The lead attorney for the East Baton Rouge Parish school system is staying on the job for at least two more years and will make $58,000 more a year annually courtesy of his bosses on the school board.
In a split vote, the board approved a two-year contract extension and pay raise for General Counsel Gwynn Shamlin at a special meeting Monday night. Board members in opposition expressed concerns about the size of the raise as well as the late-in-the-year push to get it approved. The contract renewal came 16 days before Shamlin’s current contract was set to expire at the end of the year.
Since starting with the school district in 1994, Shamlin has worked in many roles, including six years as director of the I Care anti-drug and crisis counseling service. In 2018, then Superintendent Warren Drake tapped Shamlin, who was no longer practicing much as an attorney, to return to become the top legal official after the departure of longtime general counsel Domoine Rutledge…