Southern Lehigh School District spent nearly $200,000 on legal bills that appear related to harassment, discrimination and whistleblower complaints brought by a former district administrator.

Nearly 60% of the district’s legal bills incurred between Jan. 1, 2024, and Sept. 1, 2025, fall into a miscellaneous category that includes special counsel investigations and other activities that appear likely related to resolving harassment, discrimination and whistleblower complaints brought by former human resources director Ethan Ake-Little against former Superintendent Michael Mahon and the school board.

In that 20-month period, according to a Morning Call analysis, the district incurred nearly $345,000 in legal bills, with typical district legal needs such as special education litigation, tax or lease matters, contracts or training and policy reviews making up about 42% of the total.

In a statement, Superintendent Karen Trinkle acknowledged the high legal costs.

“It comes as no surprise that The Southern Lehigh School District experienced an unusual increase in legal costs,” she said. “Approximately 50% of our legal fees for the first eight months of this year were directly related to the administrative contract settlements, along with the many miscellaneous legal issues that arise in the day to day operation of a public school district. Above that were some atypical fees paid to outside counsel for investigations and labor negotiations. These circumstances were unordinary, are now resolved, and are not likely to be repeated.”

Invoices released to The Morning Call through Right-to-Know requests show clearly labeled expenses for the above categories: $80,279 for special education litigation; $48,326 for tax or lease matters; $7,050 for contracts and training; and $7,605 for policy reviews.

Another $26,233 is labeled as related to fulfilling Right-to-Know requests, some of which are in response to records requests made by The Morning Call and regarding the investigation and ongoing dispute with former Superintendent Michael Mahon, who was placed on administrative leave in February.

That leaves $175,375 in legal bills whose redacted invoices frequently refer to Ake-Little, board members, current and former superintendents and the district’s business manager.

There is some overlap between the final two categories, with $26,233 in invoices that are explicitly labeled as Right-to-Know expenses and a handful of Right-to-Know requests referenced in the miscellaneous, redacted invoices.

Comparing the invoices to documents previously provided to The Morning Call outlining Ake-Little’s complaints show some obvious parallels:

A series of bills from Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams labeled “Special Counsel” begins in July 2024, a few days after Ake-Little filed a complaint of harassment and discrimination against Mahon.
A set of invoices from Wisler Pearlstine aligns with the dates on a report summarizing a subsequent investigation into a February complaint in which Ake-Little alleged retaliation by Mahon and board members.
June KingSpry charges referencing correspondence with Ake-Little and with board members occur around the time Ake-Little was suspended with pay.

Ake-Little’s previous roles as human resources director and head of the district’s policy committee mean references to his name on legal invoices could signal his involvement in other employee or policy matters.

However, Ake-Little said in an interview that it was rare for him to consult attorneys about human resources matters.

“I could count on one hand the amount of times that I called them about employee issues,” he said, adding that he made sure to inform supervisors when doing so.

One set of redacted invoices that can be attributed to routine business is the Fox Rothschild work — billed at $17,050 — that sources confirmed is related to negotiations on the contract that governs school administrator compensation.

Tracking the charges

The legal bills analyzed were split between several firms: $232,921 to KingSpry, the school board solicitor; $57,112 to Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams; $31,013 to Wisler Pearlstine; $17,050 to Fox Rothschild; and $6,773 to Fitzpatrick, Lentz & Bubba.

A review of bills by date also demonstrates the financial impact of the district’s investigations.

Between January 2024 and June 2024, there were $14,381 worth of charges in the miscellaneous category.

Ake-Little filed his initial harassment and discrimination complaint in July 2024. Between July and December 2024, the legal bills in the miscellaneous category jumped to $43,248.

From January 2025 to June 2025, there were an additional $115,811 in miscellaneous legal bills. Mahon was placed on administrative leave at the end of February and entered into a separation agreement with the district in late July. Ake-Little was suspended in mid-June, and entered into an agreement with the district in August.

From July to September, there were $1,934 worth of miscellaneous charges.

In all, the district spent $36,817 on all its legal bills in the six months from Jan. 1, 2024, to June 30, 2024. In the 14 months between July 1, 2024, and Sept. 1, 2025, legal bills equaled $308,052.

The district did not release information about why Mahon was placed on leave. Right-to-Know expenses cluster around his suspension, with about half the charges coming in the two months after he was placed on leave.

Another one-third of the Right-to-Know expenses came in the two months after Ake-Little was suspended. Both men received separation agreements with substantial settlements.

Mahon’s nearly $250,000 separation agreement includes $25,000 in attorney’s fees and $110,000 to settle “mutual claims against each other that could lead to litigation.”

Ake-Little’s $215,000 settlement included a mutual release of claims and a nondisparagement clause. Ake-Little confirmed that he requested, but did not receive, attorney’s fees as part of the agreement.

Billing delays mean work done on these July and August settlements might not be captured in the analyzed invoices.

Trinkle, who served as interim superintendent when Mahon was placed on leave and took over the role permanently in August, said the district is now focused on the future.

“I am committed to stability and elevating pride in the school district’s accomplishments,” she said. “We have had a wonderful start and we are in full swing into the new school year, including our students thriving within their classrooms, a US News & World Report recognizing our high school for its high performance, and the debut of our new media center in our high school. It’s a great day to be a Spartan and it is my sincere hope that the community feels the same way.  We look forward to proactively moving forward together with our community.”