Portland Public Schools paid a law firm more than $11,000 to keep secret the trove of records detailing its mishandling of sexual misconduct complaints against an educator.

The Multnomah County district attorney ultimately ruled law firm Miller Nash Graham & Dunn's legal arguments flawed and ordered the records be released. That order put an end to what had been a five-month public records battle with The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The Oregonian/OregonLive used those records as a primary basis for a news story that revealed how district officials protected educator Mitch Whitehurst time and again at the expense of children. That article spurred the school district to launch an outside investigation of its own into how it handled Whitehurst.

Under the direction of district lawyer Stephanie Harper, who was filling in as general counsel at the time, the district paid Miller Nash to argue against the release of Whitehurst-related records, even though the school board had taken a stance in favor of examining and learning from those records. The board twice directed staff to scrutinize how the district handled Whitehurst. But no one did.

School board chair Julia Brim-Edwards, who took office in July after the records battle was over, questioned this week why the district would spend so much money and effort to fight releasing records when the school board itself had asked district officials to take a deep look at the case.

On top of that, she noted, the district attorney's order indicates district officials were aware of Whitehurst's "extensive and troubling record of misconduct" and that knowing what conduct was reported, when and to whom was in the public interest.

The records the district was forced to release plainly laid out how Caprice, a former Portland Public Schools student who only wishes to use her first name, twice reported to district officials that Whitehurst demanded oral sex from her and a friend when they were students at Franklin High in the 1980s. Both times, the district failed to refer her case to the state agency that licenses teachers. Once the agency became aware of her allegations, it launched an investigation that led Whitehurst to surrender his license for sexual misconduct.

"I am outraged that instead of being transparent to the taxpayers, they instead chose to waste money in an attempt to hide the truth," Caprice said. "They must realize that actions like this erode public trust."

The district spent money to keep secret the details of her story and how officials refused to listen to her, when that money could have made a difference in a classroom, said Caprice, who now works for the district as a substitute teacher.

"I am happy to pay taxes that fund public education, but paying for these shenanigans is outrageous," Caprice said. "The kids could have benefited from these funds."

The firm spent 33 hours to try to keep the records from the public, billing records show.

See the billing records here.

Harper would not agree to be interviewed for this story, but through a district spokesman sent this statement:

"The district asked Miller Nash to help conduct legal research and analysis to inform our response to the records request. In addition, Miller Nash was asked to collect, organize, and deliver the records to the district attorney for review. The bills reflect the charges for those services."

Miller Nash has enjoyed a cozy and lucrative relationship with the school district. It has been the district's chosen firm for more than two decades. The district's previous general counsel, Jollee Patterson, now works at the firm. Maureen Sloane, the district's then in-house human resources lawyer who let Whitehurst off the hook, was hired at the district after a career as partner at Miller Nash.

Sloane and Patterson have said they will not answer questions from The Oregonian/OregonLive, even though Portland Public Schools gave them permission to do so. Sloane told The Oregonian/OregonLive in an email that said she has little recollection of the events.

Miller Nash managing partner Kieran Curley did not respond to questions about the quality of Miller Nash's legal advice and the firm's willingness to advise the district about strategies to keep secret records potentially implicating current or former attorneys for the firm.

Brim-Edwards, when asked if the firm should have declined to advise the district on keeping secret records that involved current and former Miller Nash employees, said the expectation going forward is that lawyers and law firms will recuse themselves if there is a conflict or the appearance of a conflict.

Miller Nash may not have such a lucrative and cozy relationship with Oregon's largest school district for much longer.

In September, the board was poised to grant the firm a $4 million two-year contract, but it was pulled from the agenda at the last minute.

That's because multiple board members had questions about the firm, Brim-Edwards said.

Board member Mike Rosen has previously said the Whitehurst matter made clear the district needed to reexamine both internal and external legal counsel.

That's happening. A review of the legal budget is underway, Brim-Edwards said. In the meantime, the board approved a $200,000 stopgap Miller Nash contract that ends Nov. 18.

Change, too, is coming to how the district treats public records. A new policy is under development, and Brim-Edwards says it aims to make the district more willing and limber when it comes to releasing information to the public.

Still, district officials didn't initially want to say how much it had paid Miller Nash to try to keep records about Whitehurst secret. Making the billing records public, the district argued, would jeopardize the outside investigation the district has underway.

The Oregonian/OregonLive asked for the billing records on Aug. 22, and it took the district until Oct. 2 to decide to deny that request.

The district changed course and released the billing records after The Oregonian/OregonLive said it planned to write a news story about the secrecy surrounding how much money the district had paid the law firm.

Read The Oregonian/OregonLive's Benefit of the Doubt investigation and related stories here:

— Bethany Barnes

Got a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email Bethany: bbarnes@oregonian.com