Buffalo Schools at the Crossroads_The New Regime

At the July 9^th Board of Education meeting, we witnessed the use of unmitigated gall and the practice of privilege by members of the Board’s New Majority Majority as they proceeded to push through the appointment of Donald Ogilvie as Buffalo’s Interim Superintendent.  This appointment was not the result of a process that involved the determination of a candidate profile identifying the desired expertise of the interim candidate.  Nor were there any elements of a normal procedure that one would expect for such an important and critical position, e.g.;  a thorough search process that included posting of the position, submission of applications, interviews with potential candidates or opportunities for public comment and finally vetting of the candidate’s credentials.  In fact if any or all of these actions were taken in hiring Mr. Ogilvie, the process also was marked by a glaring omission:  the exclusion of four of the nine sitting Board members; namely, Sharon Belton-Cottman, Dr. Theresa Harris-Tigg, Mrs. Mary Ruth Kapsiak and myself.

We first learned that Mr. Ogilvie’s appointment would be brought to the Board via an email from Board President James Sampson the previous Sunday.  We were also informed that the Board would meet in executive session to discuss Mr. Ogilvie’s contract, including his salary of $217,500.  Now, it has been alleged, by Mr. Quinn among others in our own community, that the four of us were invited to meet with Mr. Ogilvie, but we refused.  Besides being untrue, it’s an insult that anyone would say that any one of us would be so irresponsible as to refuse an opportunity to interview Mr. Ogilvie.  Further, when I asked the question, when was the meeting to be held?  Where was the meeting to take place?  If five members of the Board meet, then the public must be notified and the meeting has to be open.  So, was this to be an open meeting?  Where was the public notice? 

Consider also the fact that Mr. Ogilvie consented to media interviews days before the Board meeting during which he acknowledged his impending appointment.  That seems out of order, to me. Yet, he didn’t see anything wrong with the fact that he had not met with a significant number of Board members?   Mr. Ogilvie said he didn’t question the process used by the other Board members.  He said that wasn’t his job.  But I beg to differ.  As a professional with over 40 years of experience, he should have questioned the process and I think he should have reached out to the excluded Board members.  After all, the Board is comprised of nine elected leaders and Mr. Ogilvie is responsible to all nine of us!

When we refused to go into executive session to “receive” Mr. Ogilvie’s contract, it was not because we were “upset” women.  We are all conscientious and determined to perform our duties as informed, diligent and engaged members of the Board.  One only has to look at our records of attendance at Board and Committee meetings and participation in District committees and school functions to determine that we take our responsibilities seriously and are accountable Board representatives.  Because we had no opportunity, prior to Wednesday’s meeting, to act with due diligence in the serious business of the appointment of a long-term Interim Superintendent, we demanded time to have the discussion in open session.  In the two hour session, we also raised questions about, the terms of the contract for Mr. Ogilvie, the Board President’s authority to negotiate a contract without full Board approval and the responsibility of the Board’s special counsel in drafting the document before the new President had even taken office.  A critical part of the discussion spotlighted the Majority’s complete and untenable use of their five vote power to disenfranchise and marginalize an entire group of stakeholders.  If they did this once, involving such a crucial decision, will they do it again?  And will the community stakeholders, political, religious, business and other leaders allow them to?  Would they have allowed the Old Majority the same latitude?  I think not!

   

We encourage members of the public to view the Board meeting on television or on the Internet.  Again, I urge you to be informed and knowledgeable so that you can hold Board members accountable.  But you need to hold Mr. Ogilvie accountable, too!  Finally, during the session, Mr. Ogilvie, who had been waiting in the Board office was encouraged by Sharon Belton-Cottman to join the open session.  He tried to respond to the concerns that were raised and as he expressed later to the press to “bring down the temperature” at the Board table.   But as I said to Mr. Ogilvie that evening, he has a credibility problem that he will have to work hard to overcome. Obviously, Mr. Ogilvie has a lot of the characteristics and educational experience that some people believe the District needs.  I believe we already had the person that the District needed in Dr. Pamela C. Brown.  However, moving forward I will work with Mr. Ogilvie as we are both accountable to the students of this District and the fact of the matter is that the four minority Board members believe that our first duty is to our students.  We will continue to work to ensure that they receive a World Class Education.

Buffalo Schools at the Crossroads: A Hostile Takeover by the New Majority Majority

In my opinion, the Buffalo Schools are at the crossroads of a hostile takeover.  Before you respond by thinking/saying that’s an absurd statement or an irresponsible assertion, I ask you to consider the following.  If there was any notion that the New Majority Majority (Carl Paladino, Jason McCarthy, Larry Quinn, Pattie Bowers Pierce and James Sampson) was going to ease into their hostile takeover of the Buffalo Schools, think again.  And remember that their actions are not racist or sexist in tone and tenor – since that will be the first thing they will deny as they accuse the African American women on the Board of playing the race card.  But, take a look at the evidence and decide for yourself if the actions they are taking are not privileged and dismissive of the four other votes on the Board.

If you don’t think there’s a hijacking going on, what do you think about these actions being taken by the New Majority Majority Board?  First, less than 24 hours after the swearing in of President James Sampson, Vice Presidents Jason McCarthy and Dr. Theresa Harris-Tigg, along with returning at Large Board Member, Dr. Barbara Seals Nevergold and new Board members, Larry Quinn and Patti Bowers-Pierce, Mr. Sampson circulated via email a six page “Vision Statement”, which he described as being a document to “guide discussions ….” about the direction of the District.  Yet, before any discussion could begin, on the 6^th July, Mr. Sampson sent out another email, detailing his decision to hire former BOCES Superintendent Donald Ogilvie as the new Interim Superintendent, for a two year term at a salary of $217,000 per year.

When did Mr. Sampson, and perhaps others interview Mr. Oglivie?  Without the knowledge or full involvement of the entire Board.  When was the deal negotiated and who participated?  Again, without the full involvement of the Board members.  Mr. Sampson tries to justify this fiat by stating that two months had passed since Dr. Brown’s departure was known with little progress toward hiring an Interim, yet attempts to get the Board to work on a transition plan were met with resistance and ultimately nothing happened.  Also this insistence that time is of the essence ignores the fact that there is an Interim in place who is very knowledgeable about the District, much more than Mr. Ogilvie!

Along with the appointment of the new Interim, Mr. Sampson has decreed that the structure of the Board meetings will be changed.  Gone are the Board recognitions.  Gone are the Superintendent updates.  Very soon, the plan is to remove the Public Comments section from the Board meeting and place them in a new community forum format.

Don’t forget that four years ago that Mr. Ogilvie was prominently touted as a candidate for the interim superintendent position supported not only by some board members but by the Regent Emeritus and presumably by the Commissioner, Dr. John King.  Note, that the Interim position is being given for two years, the same amount of time that Dr. Pamela Brown was given as the Superintendent. And now, having retired so fortuitously at the time when his services are so need in Buffalo, Mr. Ogilvie is ready, willing and supposedly able to take over this District and turn it around.

Buffalo Schools at the Crossroads_ Dr. Pamela Brown’s Legacy

The May 6^th school board election established the Buffalo School Board’s New Majority Majority, which will take control and power on July 1, 2014.  But, of course the New Majority Majority began planning for the takeover long before the election.   During the electoral campaign, they telegraphed that one of their goals was to force the resignation or outright firing of the Superintendent, Dr. Pamela C. Brown.  For the better part of her two-year tenure Dr. Brown has been the subject of a coordinated campaign to undermine her position as Superintendent.  For example, the Buffalo News has waged a crusade to denigrate Dr. Brown, discredit her accomplishments, create public negative opinion and diminish her ability to achieve significant change in the District. 

Board member Carl Paladino built his 2013 election bid on a pledge to get rid of the Superintendent and the “Sisterhood” of Black Board members who championed the progress made under Dr. Brown’s tenure.  The New York State Education Department’s Commissioner, Dr. John King, appointed a “Distinguished Educator”, Dr. Judy Elliott, a month before Dr. Brown took office, ostensibly to aid the District.  Simultaneously during Dr. Brown’s superintendence he issued mandate after mandate, many unfunded, on the District.  These drained staff energies and resources and contributed to low morale.

And that’s really just the tip of the iceberg that Dr. Brown had to contend with.  The business community turned against her with such a vengeance that they secretly constructed a buyout plan that offered her a half-million dollars to leave the District.  When she vehemently refused the bribe, the Buffalo News chided her for not being prudent.   She should have taken the money and gotten out of Dodge!  And through it all, Buffalo’s Black community, the political, business, religious and service factions have remained silent.  Whether as a result of apathy, fear of retribution or “enlightened self-interest” remains to be seen.  The end result is that sadly, the African American community has failed to live up to the historic legacy of civil and social justice advocacy that undergirded it for the past two centuries.

The New Majority Majority has already begun to make its mark.  They have vowed to implement their pledge to terminate the Superintendent’s contract, even though she still has one year left on it.  They have posited an agenda that includes rapid “reform” of the school district in a supposed plan to “fix” it, retrench all the progress that they refuse to admit has taken place since Dr. Brown was hired and establish as many charter schools as they can create ASAP.

 An ultimate example of how “white privilege” is exercised can be seen in the “request” of incoming Board member Larry Quinn to be included now in the Board’s deliberations about the selection of a new Interim Superintendent.  Why, he asks, should Florence Johnson be sitting at the table making these decisions?  After all she won’t be there after July 1.  But, consider this; a Board member is a public officer, like the Mayor, a Common Council Member, an Erie County or New York State Legislator or the President of the United States.  You don’t get to make decisions as a sitting member of any of these bodies until you are sworn in!  Plain and simple!  But that answer doesn't seem to be sufficient.  Further, the new Board members haven’t attended any Board or Committee Meetings to date.  These are open meetings that one would think they would want to attend in order to get an understanding of the issues they will be dealing with once they are seated.

And then consider this, a current Board member, Mr. James Sampson, the presumptive President of the Board on July 1 and an incoming Board member, Mr. Larry Quinn were invited to meet with the Commissioner of Education, Dr. John King, when the sitting Board President, Dr. Barbara Nevergold,  was denied such an audience. What does this say about being open and transparent?  What changes will there be in the relationship between the Buffalo School Board and the State Education Department come July 1?  In addition, why didn’t this “adjustment” of the Buffalo Board/SED relationship take place earlier?  It was not a failure on the part of the past Board, as we tried.

But now, I realize that I digress!  This article was to be about the legacy of Dr. Pamela C. Brown.  So, let me conclude this piece (no doubt there will be more to come)for now and pick it up in a new article that adheres to that subject.

Why Mary Guinn?

Buffalo Board of Education

The Buffalo Board of Education just completed a very competitive and contentious election that has resulted in the election of two (out of three) new Board members, who join three current members in a new majority block that has promised to terminate the contract of Superintendent Dr. Pamela C. Brown.  Dr. Brown has tenured her resignation. The current majority on the Board will continue until June 30th.  This group has concerns about the status of the District once Dr. Brown departs, along with her Interim Deputy, Dr. Mary Guinn.  The group has proposed, against great opposition, the retention of Dr. Guinn for a period of 90 days past June 30th in order to create a stable transition.

The question is:  Why do certain members of the Board of Education, including me, want to keep Dr. Mary Guinn as the Buffalo School’s Interim Deputy Superintendent?  The answer is simple – it’s in the best interest of the children of this District.

In certain circles, when the conversation shifts to Dr. Guinn, the major points that are made, particularly by detractors is that she’s “polarizing”; she was a “highly paid consultant”; “a lightning rod for controversy”.  Citing more negative descriptors, the Buffalo News’ May 30^th editorial also declared that “the current Board majority continues to push its own agenda, which involves naming Mary Guinn…as interim superintendent to lead the district for a few months.”  But the News has it wrong!  The current Board majority does not want to appoint Dr. Guinn as the Interim Superintendent.  In fact, we want her to stay in her current position as Interim Deputy Superintendent for three additional months, until September 30^th.   Why?  Again, the answer is simple – it’s in the best interest of the children.

Dr. Mary Guinn is a consummate educational professional, who along with Dr. Brown is the only professional in the District to hold New York State certification as a School District Leader. She has experience as a school leader in other Districts and as a turnaround specialist.   As the Interim Deputy Superintendent, she has managed a number of major tasks and supervises top level staff in the District.   With the forced resignation of Dr. Pamela C. Brown the School District will enter the summer – a busy planning period with several critical staff vacancies.  Dr. Guinn has direct responsibility for the oversight of a number of these positions; e.g.:  the Chief of Curriculum, Assessment & Instruction; a Chief of School Leadership; the Director of Grants; the Chief of Strategic Alignment and an Assistant Superintendent of Leadership.  She has worked long hours, with other staff, to ensure that the work of these division heads continues to be addressed.  Dr. Guinn’s departure on June 30^th will come at a time when the current school year is winding down, summer school will begin and the planning for the next school year is solidified.  However, the fact of the matter is that these activities don’t begin to describe the complexity and the myriad tasks that have to be accomplished by staff during the next several months.

Let me be perfectly clear.  In no way am I implying that the District’s staff are not competent, committed and professional.  I commend them for working with Dr. Brown and Dr. Guinn, under a great deal of stress.  They have been stretched thin. The issue is that the District is being destabilized at a time it can least afford such instability.  The recommendation to retain Dr. Guinn for 90 days until September 30^th is an accountable response to serious concerns.  We need to maintain stability in our District while the Board works to appoint an interim Superintendent.   Dr. Guinn can contribute to this effort.  Retaining Dr. Guinn until September 30^th is the responsible action to take and IT’S IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CHILDREN.

The Buffalo News_ A Case of Biased and Stereotypical Journalism

Just when you think the Buffalo News can’t sink any lower in diminishing its credibility as a reputable, unbiased news organization, they print something that confirms for most of us that not only are they disreputable but that they are racist and sexist.  On Friday, May 9^th, the News’ editorial page contained an editorial cartoon as well as an article that confirms the foregoing statement.  A part of the cartoon featured me, highlighting my support for the Superintendent and playing a word game with my name by separating it into two words, NEVER and GOLD (standard), to punctuate their disdain and disrespect for me.  Now, I will not further address this part of the cartoon in this article, because as a public official I understand that criticism is a given, whether it is fair or unfair.

 

However, my concern and displeasure with this cartoon is in response to the second panel of the cartoon that features a child seated at a desk, holding a report card with a D+ grade and a caption that notes “our standards for Buffalo Public Schools”.  The caricature of the child is that of a stereotypical Black male, bordering on a third-world, big eyed, obviously perplexed and failing elementary student as underscored by the D+ grade on the report card.  The insinuation is that this child represents all the children in the so called “failing schools”.  Even though the ethnic breakdown of the School District’s population is 50% African American, 21.5% Caucasian, 17.4% Hispanic and 7.2% Asian/Pacific Islander this child is portrayed as representing all the “failing children” in the District.

This is insulting!  This is biased!  This is an unfair slap in the face to all of our children. I ask members of this City, not just African American residents, but everyone who is offended by this type of racial profiling by a newspaper that has for over a year created, distorted and slanted the news regarding the Buffalo Schools, to contact the Editor and share your displeasure with this type of character assassination disguised as reporting. 

It is only when people remain silent that this type of yellow journalism will continue unchallenged.

Buffalo's Board of Education Elections: It's Decision Time!

The Buffalo (New York) Board of Education election for three at-large members is fast approaching.  In fact, it's tomorrow, May 6^th!  And this election will determine the future of the public school system in Buffalo as we have known it.  If the Carl Paladino slate of Larry Quinn and Patti Pierce, with the tag-along of BernieTolbert are elected, we will see a dismantling of the school district through privatizing of the district with the creation of new charter schools; outsourcing of students to BOCES and parochial/private schools; a vacuum of leadership as the current Superintendent is discharged in favor of another supposed distinguished educator; and the creation of a Board that is focused on creating opportunities for development and other businesses rather than opportunities for student growth and learning.  And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Does race matter in this race???  The Buffalo News acknowledged that it does.  But in the same paragraph of its editorial endorsing three white candidates, two of whom have no experience or documented history of interest or contribution to public school education or an urban community, the News stated that race was an issue.  Furthermore, they knew that their support for these three would contribute to the racial divide on the Board and in the District.  Others have taken the News to task for this deliberate support of a racial/racist agenda.  Yet a major question still remains that should be asked of the News.  Were there no African American or Hispanic candidates out of the 8 running that they could support?  And if not, why not?  An examination of the credentials of these candidates would reveal that some of us possessed not only the experience but a record of contribution and achievement, not just in the minority communities we are members of but in the community at large.  

So, what message has the News sent not only to the citizens of Buffalo, New York State and the nation for that matter, but most importantly to our children?  It's the age old message that if you're a person of color you can never measure up to White people, regardless of your credentials!  The News is not alone in sending that message.  They are joined by the business community spearheaded by the Niagara Partnership; by the charter school advocates including Michelle Rhee’s Students First and Buffalo’s ReformEd; and by others who contribute to the polarization of this community. 

Will the African American and Latino communities accept this attempt to take over our school district by moneyed and racist proponents of school privatization and the dismissal of a competent minority majority?  Stay tuned, May 7^th!

The Campaign Enters the Next Phase

Today I submitted the signatures of nearly 5,000 registered voters who signed my petition as a candidate for the position of school board member on the Buffalo School Board.

Now that my petitions have been submitted, the next phase of the campaign to retain  my seat as an At-Large Member of the Buffalo School Board begins.  Once the Board of Elections certifies that I have the required number of signatures (1000 are needed), I'll secure a place on the ballot.  But even now, I am proceeding on to the next phase of the campaign and that is to let the community know that this is the most IMPORTANT election of this year!

The outcome of this election may change the structure of Public Education in the City of Buffalo as we know it.  I need your support if we are to prevent the systematic dismantling of the Buffalo Public Schools from within!  Help me to get out the vote for people who care about our children, who are prepared to work hard to improve the educational achievement of our children and who will not create chaos in the District.

I'll be talking about the issues in this space coming up, so stay tuned and learn about the critical issues
that we are facing in the District and what we can do to resolve them.