Tagged: Buffalo School Board

The day after a school board election and a few days before a Buffalo Teachers Federation election, Wednesday night's school board meeting was, at times, tense with politics front and center.

Local developer and longtime school district critic Carl Paladino, and two other newcomers, Theresa Harris-Tigg and Jim Sampson, were elected Tuesday to seats on the Buffalo Board of Education.

Voters in the City of Buffalo head to the polls Tuesday to elect representatives to the Board of Education.

With the Buffalo school board election a week away, eight candidates turned out Tuesday night for a debate in Lafayette Presbyterian Church.

With Buffalo developer Carl Paladino officially in the race for the Buffalo Board of Education, the war of words has started between the former gubernatorial candidate and Buffalo Teachers Federation President Phil Rumore. 

Buffalo developer and activist Carl Paladino has announced a run for the Buffalo School Board, on the heels of being tossed out of a board meeting Wednesday night.

Buffalo Board of Education members were told Wednesday there will be an attempt to unseat those seeking another term. They were also told the proposed state budget does little for the continuing fiscal problem. 

Under some pressure from State Education Commissioner John King, the Buffalo school board is moving ahead to redistrict in time for the board election next spring.

While the final decisions will be made by the board, there is an advisory group drawing lines headed by Board Member Ralph Hernandez.

The final shapes for the six districts must meet all of the regular rules on compactness and equality of population among them. That is despite the lines being drawn based on the most-recent Census figures from 2010.

A proposal to turn two of the city's most-academically-troubled schools into charter schools met strong opposition at last night's school board meeting.

A group of veteran charter school proponents has filed with the State Education Department to take over East High and Waterfront, dropping union contracts and adding longer school days and longer school years.

They expect to take over the buildings on which the Joint Schools Construction Board has spent tens of millions of dollars in renovations.

Buffalo schools now have a state-designated "distinguished educator."

While Judy Elliott is a Buffalo native, no one at the top of the school system admits to knowing her and it's not clear why Albany chose her for the new post.

Under a contract agreed to last night, Elliott will be paid $190-per-hour when working on school business and $275-per-day in expenses; she agreed to work 25 days a year while working with other school systems from her Florida base.

The appointment is not popular with board members.

Amber Dixon's long career with the Buffalo School District is coming to an end following her Tuesday resignation.

Dixon spent most of the 2011-2012 school year as the district's interim school superintendent, but was passed over for the permanent position when the school board appointed Dr. Pamela Brown in July.

After 21 years with Buffalo schools, Dixon was under contract through next June at a salary of $109,000.

The Buffalo School Board delayed action Tuesday night on a contract for the district's new state-appointed distinguished educator.

That move followed board review of the contract for Judy Elliott, which calls for a pay rate of  $190-an-hour and $275-a-day in travel expenses.

An education consultant who lives in Florida, Elliott was named the district's distinguished educator in May by the state Education Department.

State Supreme Court Justice Donna Siwek has ruled against a lawsuit filed by Buffalo developer Carl Paladino against the city school board for the hiring process of a new schools superintendent.  

Paladino claimed the Buffalo School board should have have vetted the candidates in public,  not behind closed doors.

Former gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino wants to stall the appointment of Pamela Brown as Buffalo schools superintendent.

Paladino is due in State Supreme Court tomorrow in his fight to open up the closed-door executive sessions used to select the new superintendent.

The board is still holding closed meetings to talk about details of the proposed pact, with lawyers from both sides bargaining the contract under which Brown would work, from pay to evaluation provisions.

The school board is slated to approve Brown's contract at a late-afternoon meeting tomorrow.