(7/20/07) The Town Manager's office has issued a press release announcing the selection of a new Town Counsel. It reads:
Laurence Shaffer, Town Manager for the Town of Amherst announced that Joel B. Bard, Attorney at Law, of Kopelman and Paige, P.C. of Boston, Massachusetts has been selected to serve as Town Counsel for the Town of Amherst beginning August 1, 2007. Attorney Bard was selected from a group of seven firms that applied to the Town in response to a request for proposals for qualified persons or firms. A recruitment and selection team made up of Jonathan Tucker, Town Planner; John Musante, Finance Director and Treasurer; and Sonia Aldrich, Town Comptroller, unanimously recommended to the Town Manager the selection of Joel Bard, P.C.
Kopelman and Paige has its principal office in Boston with offices in Worcester, Northampton and Lenox. The firm is Town Counsel or City Solicitor to 121 communities in the State. Eleven (11) of these communities are located in Hampshire County.
Larry Shaffer said, “I was extremely impressed with the energy and experience of Joel Bard of Kopelman and Paige. I am confident that Amherst will receive the highest quality legal service at a reasonable cost.
Comments
Yeah...now if we could just get Town Meeting and the Select board to control their socalistic ways, maybe we could keep litigation costs down.
Posted by: Larry Kelley | July 21, 2007 09:56 AM
Hmmn.... If Amherst is "socialistic", then what would Larry Kelley call the Amherst Chinese Immersion Charter School, which is accepting public funds, while at the same time giving its founders' kids (such as Larry's) the first opportunity to attend? Would that be "free-market-capitalism?
Posted by: Denizen of Amherst Center | July 21, 2007 08:47 PM
Hmmm (I prefer it with all m’s)…first off, I would get the name correct: Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School not Amherst Chinese (you must be thinking of the restaurant). Thus showing our B-R-O-A-D drawing power.
Yes we are “accepting public funds”, although I’m not sure I would use the passive verb to accept. Like any Public School we RELY on state funds. In fact, last year state Charter Schools averaged $10,000 per student in funding while Amherst Public Schools averaged closer to $13,000 per student.
An extensive study of MCAS test scores published by the Department Of Education showed Charter Schools equal to their sending district 60% of the time, worse 10% and Better 30%. So I could also spin those statistics to say Charter Schools were equal to or better than their sending district 90% of the time.
Founder kids did not have the “first opportunity to attend,” they got in line just like everybody else. In fact, there is at least one of the nine current Trustees (actually only of 8 since my wife has net yet been replaced) who still have their child on the waiting list.
Yeah, the free-market-capitalism comes in because now parents in the Pioneer Valley (not just Amherst) have a CHOICE. And when products compete, they get BETTER.
Posted by: Larry Kelley | July 22, 2007 11:38 AM