The Dunkirk City School District has contracted with Buffalo’s Lippes Mathias law firm for unspecified legal services.

The Dunkirk Board of Education approved the agreement at its June meeting. District Superintendent Michael Mansfield introduced Nathaniel Kuzma, a Lippes Mathias attorney, at the meeting.

Kuzma said he doesn’t do a very good job of selling himself, but he worked hard to do so during his presentation.

Kuzma said he has already talked to Mansfield and Mark Frazier, the district’s Human Resources director, about “the array of issues that you face as a Board of Education and as administrators.” He’s familiar with Frazier because they worked together at the Buffalo City School District.

The Syracuse University graduate went over his impressive resume, including extensive experience as a contract negotiator and seven years as Buffalo City School District counsel. “It was an immense opportunity of providing me great experience on a variety of different fronts,” Kuzma said of his Buffalo job.

He went into private practice last year, looking to be a consultant for various school districts.

Kuzma said he told Mansfield and Frazier, “When you have somebody that you pay to come in and provide a service to you, they should come in and knock your socks off and they should be available to you at a moment’s notice, when it’s needed. That is my promise to you.”

He was asked why he wanted to do work for the Dunkirk district. “There’s a lot of good lawyers out there that do what I do. There are 700 districts across New York state, all of them need legal services of some kind. Obviously, I’m looking in the Western New York area,” he responded. “Dunkirk is a diverse district, it’s a district that serves students with tremendous needs.

“Those are all issues that I am familiar with, and that I can bring a unique experience and my unique perspective,” Kuzma continued. “You can talk to anybody that worked with me in Buffalo, another diverse district, high-poverty district, students with a tremendous amount of needs, and they will tell you, ‘Nate Kuzma is a man of character, who brings a caring thoughtful compassionate advocacy to the work, but who will also be your district’s No.1 advocate and defender when it’s needed.'”