Tuesday, November 24, 2009
East Ramapo board makes bad decision on attorney
I just watched a YouTube video of last week’s East Ramapo Board of Education meeting. (Go to www.youtube.com/polanve to view video of the Nov.' meeting.) At the meeting, the school board decided to replace its longtime attorneys to hire a Long Island lawyer, Albert D’Agostino, who is under investigation by the New York attorney general.
The current attorneys charge the district $120 per hour, with no transportation surcharge. The new attorney will charge the district $250 per hour, with a $125 per hour transportation charge. Since the office of the attorney in question is in Valley Stream, that means a minimum of an hour to an hour and a half travel time each way, making the minimum cost of a one-hour consultation $500. Aren’t there qualified attorneys who work out of Rockland?
But it gets worse.
Three members of the East Ramapo school board indicated that they had not been notified in advance that the proposed attorney was coming to be interviewed, and therefore were unprepared with questions. No other prospective candidates were interviewed, nor were the current attorneys informed that the school board was contemplating changes. The current attorneys, therefore, were given no chance to propose changes to the way they conduct business to bring them into line with the board’s expectations. Nathan Rothschild, the president of the school board, wasn’t present at the meeting, but Superintendent Ira Oustatcher said Rothschild had sent a letter requesting the attorney matter be tabled until the next meeting, when it could be the only item on the agenda.
Several school board members repeatedly asked what the bottom line cost would be, and how the increase could possibly be paid for. The board member pushing for a vote, Aron Weider, who chaired the meeting, said he could not provide exact figures.
The actions undertaken at the Nov.' meeting should be reviewed by the New York State Department of Education.
http://www.lohud.com/article/20091124/OPINION/911240305/1076/OPINION01/East%20Ramapo%20board%20makes%20bad%20decision%20on%20attorney
The current attorneys charge the district $120 per hour, with no transportation surcharge. The new attorney will charge the district $250 per hour, with a $125 per hour transportation charge. Since the office of the attorney in question is in Valley Stream, that means a minimum of an hour to an hour and a half travel time each way, making the minimum cost of a one-hour consultation $500. Aren’t there qualified attorneys who work out of Rockland?
But it gets worse.
Three members of the East Ramapo school board indicated that they had not been notified in advance that the proposed attorney was coming to be interviewed, and therefore were unprepared with questions. No other prospective candidates were interviewed, nor were the current attorneys informed that the school board was contemplating changes. The current attorneys, therefore, were given no chance to propose changes to the way they conduct business to bring them into line with the board’s expectations. Nathan Rothschild, the president of the school board, wasn’t present at the meeting, but Superintendent Ira Oustatcher said Rothschild had sent a letter requesting the attorney matter be tabled until the next meeting, when it could be the only item on the agenda.
Several school board members repeatedly asked what the bottom line cost would be, and how the increase could possibly be paid for. The board member pushing for a vote, Aron Weider, who chaired the meeting, said he could not provide exact figures.
The actions undertaken at the Nov.' meeting should be reviewed by the New York State Department of Education.
http://www.lohud.com/article/20091124/OPINION/911240305/1076/OPINION01/East%20Ramapo%20board%20makes%20bad%20decision%20on%20attorney
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