Thomas S. Deans
President and Managing
Partner
Thomas S. Deans
Thomas Deans has served as legal counsel to numerous Minnesota school districts and cities in the areas of municipal and school finance, reorganization, elections, legislation and school and municipal law. He is general counsel to the Minnesota School Boards Association and served as the legal part of the MSBA lobbying team from 1978 through 2011. He also represents the Minnesota School District Liquid Asset Fund Plus (MSDLAF) and the Minnesota Association of Governments Investing for Counties (MAGIC FUND).
Mr. Deans is a nationally recognized bond counsel. He has served as bond counsel on hundreds of school district building bond and refunding bond issues and has worked extensively on bond and levy referendum elections, lease purchase financings, certificate of participation financings and tax and aid anticipation borrowings.
Serving as legal counsel to the Minnesota Senate Education Committee, Mr. Deans was involved in legal and policy research and statutory drafting. He was a legislative liaison to the Department of Education, the four post-secondary educational systems and the various educational organizations. In addition, he was a primary draftsman of the 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978 omnibus education aid bills, as well as other major educational legislation.
Publications
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Actions of the Minnesota Legislature (1974-1978), contributing author
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Minnesota Public School District Election Manual, updating editor and co-author
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Minnesota Public School District Obligations (1979 Revision), Peterson, Popovich, Knutson & Flynn, September 1979
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Minnesota School Boards Association Handbook for School Board Members, Chapters 13 and 14, updating editor and co-author
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MSBA Council of School Attorneys Newsletter, co-editor (1990 to present)
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MSBA/MASA Policy Services Manual, updating editor and co-author
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"Standards and Procedures for Decisions on Education of Handicapped Children," The Hennepin Lawyer, November-December 1976