By MATT CHANDLER
mchandler@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1654

Outgoing Williamsville Central School District Superintendent Howard Smith won't be out of work for long.

He announced his resignation in January and plans to leave Aug. 1 to join the law firm of Harris Beach PLLC in a consulting role with its HB Solutions division.

For Smith, who spent 39 years in education - including Williamsville superintendent since 2004 - it's an opportunity to stay active in the field.

"We haven't fully fleshed out all the different areas in which I am going to be involved; that's something we are still working on," he says. "But Harris Beach represents more than 125 school districts in New York state, so I'm going to be working in those areas where I can provide support to the districts."

He previously worked with the firm while serving as assistant superintendent in the Gates Chili School District. The relationships he forged with several senior partners led to the job, he says.

"This started out as an informal conversation with some of those partners and evolved to the idea of 'Let's try this.' We are planning on me doing work not just in Buffalo but in Rochester and in Albany, as well," he adds.

He expects to assist in a range of practice areas including:

• Board/superintendent relations;

• The new Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR);

• Districtwide studies related to enrollment decline or growth;

• District administrative organization;

• Collective-bargaining activities;

• Staffing projections.

"Those types of areas where it wouldn't necessarily require legal support but it would require some practitioner support to get these districts where they need to be," he says.

According to Smith, there are several legal issues facing school districts in the coming year. At the top of the list: a controversial statewide plan to evaluate teachers and principals. He anticipates spending a significant amount of time working with districts as the evaluation process is rolled out.

"This past year, I chaired a statewide committee for the New York State Council of School Superintendents. I had about 25 superintendents from throughout the state and we collected information, held a couple of public hearings and we advised our representatives who were on the Regents advisory committee. So I have been pretty active in that mater," he says.

"I'm hoping that my knowledge and experience will help the firm and help districts that we are going to work with to implement these new regulations in the best way we can."

According to Smith, the bottom line comes down to when, not if.

"We have these regulations and they have to be implemented, so districts need to move forward and begin the process," says Smith.

He found the perfect fit with his new venture and is excited to join the law firm of Harris Beach.

"I plan to take some time and relax and play some golf, but I also want to continue to stay active in the (education) field.  This opportunity gives me the chance to do both," he says, adding, "It's an exciting, new venture for me; it's a different approach for a law firm; and I see it as a new way of thinking and a new way of working."