Baldwin-Whitehall Goes with Two-Lawyer School System

The void left by former Baldwin-Whitehall School District solicitor Ed Lawrence, who resigned in May, has been filled by two men, the B-W School Board has decided.


Finishing his first month's worth of meetings as a B-W solicitor on Wednesday night was Bruce E. Dice of the Bruce Dice & Associates law firm.

Dice and fellow lawyer Ira Weiss were both approved in June by the school board, 9-0, for legal service to the district. Weiss represents The Law Offices of Ira Weiss.

Board member Martin Michael Schmotzer said on Wednesday that Dice's responsibilities will be as a "public face" during board meetings, addressing legal questions that arise at those meetings. Weiss' duties, Schmotzer said, will include handling real estate tax issues, including delinquent tax collection.

Weiss' title is Special Counsel.

Splitting legal duties between two men could result in an increase in the amount of money that the district spends on lawyers, B-W Superintendent Dr. Randal A. Lutz said in an interview after the meeting. But that increased cost could be offset.

"As a district, we really never aggressively pursued (real estate) reassessments," Lutz said, "so that will result in more time (cost) overall. But, that effort should almost be self-sustaining if more revenues (taxes) are realized."