BOE MAKES BACKDOOR MOVE AND APPOINTS WILLIAMS SUPERINTENDENT

July 14, 2022

In recent weeks Marckabraham.com has been inundated with emails from parents, teachers and community members regarding a myriad of issues within the ever-dysfunctional Buffalo Public School District but the appointment of Tonja Williams as Superintendent today, and the manner in which she was slid in has many stakeholders up in arms. Williams, the former associate superintendent for student support services was appointed as interim superintendent in March of 2022 after MarckAbraham.com shed light on the fact that former Superintendent Kriner Cash was warned many times, over the course of three plus years, that McKinley High School was unsafe under former Principal Marck Abraham (click here). MarckAbraham.com's exposé highlighted Abraham's incompetence while leading McKinley and Cash's culpability for appointing the inexperienced former guidance counselor. Cash ignored the warning signs, that led up to a security guard being shot and a student being stabbed multiple times on February 9, 2022. Community pressure for Cash's removal swelled leading to the BOE and Cash agreeing that he would resign, on March 2, 2022 (click here). Williams served in the role of interim superintendent until today, when the Buffalo Board of Education voted unanimously to make her the district’s permanent superintendent. Williams was given a three-year contract at the rate of $270,000 for her first year which is an increase of $116,000 from the salary she earned as associate superintendent. 

Scroll down to the next section below 

Equally as concerning as the lack of a search, is Williams' work experience and background. As reported by the Buffalo News (click here) and the Investigative Post (click here), Williams attended Buffalo Public Schools as a student and has only worked as a professional within the BPS system. Many are concerned that she may be blind to the inadequacies of the district as she knows no other way. Professionally Williams served as a guidance counselor, elementary principal and associate superintendent, but notably and most importantly has no teaching experience. Marckabrham.com highlighted the pitfalls of hiring someone who was never a teacher to be an administrator, as was the case when Cash appointed former guidance counselor Marck Abraham to the position of temporary principal of McKinley High School. Most teachers do not respect the opinion of a superior or anyone else for that matter, on the topic of “teaching”,  who has not served as a teacher. Williams is seen by many as a caring person but also lacking the acumen to lead the second largest school district in NYS. Her tenure as a Principal which included a four year stint at Marva J. Daniel Futures Preparatory School and School 61 the Arthur O. Eve School of Distinction was marred by poor student performance and her removal from both schools. (click here.)   As associate superintendent, Williams failed again.  Williams failed to develop effective systems in student placement, and in the formal suspension office. Both offices are replete with unmitigated issues that the board needs to investigate. Most recently, as lead Cabinet member who advised Cash on Covid matters, Williams  played a significant role in the reason Buffalo Public Schools was one of the last districts in New York State to return to in-person learning.  

During Cash’s tenure as superintendent he frequently clashed with the board and in many cases disregarded them (click here). Although Education Law is clear, “the superintendent serves at the pleasure of the board” (click here), the board had little leverage on Cash due to the fact that he was well beyond retirement age and his contract stipulated that he would receive one years pay if terminated without cause. Additionally, Cash was not from Buffalo and thus could easily and quickly eject from the city, with the king’s ransom of a year’s pay, if he was ever terminated without cause. The board could have terminated him “with cause”, and avoided paying him a year’s salary, as recommended by Marckabraham.com, due to his aforementioned culpability for the McKinley High School shooting and stabbing. Undoubtedly, Cash knew that the board would not have the backbone to terminate him “with cause”, even though “cause” was obvious for all to see (click here.) Due to this clash between Cash and the board many believe they chose Williams because, unlike Cash, she is easily controlled. Many feel that because she attended Buffalo Public Schools as a student and her work experience is limited to her unsuccessful stints as a principal and also a position as associate superintendent (all at BPS), that Williams lacks the experience, capacity or faculty to bring about any real “change.” Williams is seen by many as the polar opposite of Cash, as someone who lacks the background and self-confidence to ever clash or disagree with the board, which seems to be precisely why they choose her. Her track record, as an unsuccessful principal, was oddly an off-limits topic prior to her appointment, as upon information and belief, she never even produced or shared her “plan” for the direction with the district, with the board, BTF or the community.  

Scroll down to the next section below

MarckAbraham.com’s sources report that in the months leading up to Williams’ appointment multiple media outlets repeatedly reached out to Williams and requested to interview her. Each time their requests were denied. On occasion Williams’ public relations director flirted with potentially allowing Williams to be interviewed. During that process the PR director requested that all questions be presented ahead of time.  More than one News outlet obliged this telling request and agreed to provide the questions up front, yet none were ultimately granted an interview with Williams. Instead, Williams conducted a “listening tour” (click here), during which she “listened” to the community express their concerns, yet as mentioned earlier, she never produced or provided her plan, provided her resume or spoke to demonstrate her understanding of the needs of the district and how she was going to meet those needs. It is believed by many that her handlers (the board) forbid her to be interviewed by the press and/or to provide the public with her “vision”, as doing so would reveal that she lacks the prerequisite skill set and cerebration to manage such a large district. In essence Williams has been kept on a shelf, like fine china, to be seen but not heard or touched. This revealed that the BPS board of education’s predominant qualification for a superintendent, is that they do as they are told by the board. It should be noted that the educational system is set up in such a manner that the board of education and superintendent act as a “checks and balance” system to keep each other in check. Although the superintendent serves at the pleasure of the board, the superintendent position was created to be filled with a highly qualified educator, with vast experience to help GUIDE THE BOARD and guide the district down the path of providing a quality and safe educational experience for its children, not to be filled by a “good listener” and minion for the board.   

Undoubtedly, many will point to the fact that Williams is a "women-of-color" who also comes from BPS as justification for her appointment in an attempt to quell concerns over the board not conducting a search, not holding interviews, not gathering input from the community and teachers (BTF) and other stakeholders. If the board was set on hiring a women-of-color, within the district, there are many others who are employed within the Buffalo Public School system, that are highly qualified, who could have and should have been given the opportunity to apply for the position and be potentially interviewed by the board and the community. Although, it is MarckAbraham.com's stance that gender and color should not be qualifications or requirements to become the superintendent of Buffalo Public Schools or any other school district.  It should be noted that Williams boasts about growing up on Buffalo's eastside, but she has not lived in Buffalo for decades. According to several sources, Williams lives in a suburb where her children grew up and attended schools. Reportedly, it is a condition of her contract that she move into the City of Buffalo, but her obvious preference is to live in the suburbs.  

Scroll down to the next section below

The people in the city of Buffalo were deserving of a fair and open process for the selection of the Superintendent. Any board that unilaterally selects a superintendent after a myriad of clandestine meetings, without any input from the public, does not lead with a spirit of democracy, disrespects the voice of their constituency and operates more like mobsters than a shared decision-making body. The current board leads with secret meetings. How can we ensure that Williams is the best person to serve the second largest district in the State of New York, when she has a marred professional history and has not been properly vetted by the public? This egregious act is very concerning, and it seems like our Board members are trying to hide something. The board's selection process has violated their oath and the law, as they failed to be transparent and open. The megalomaniac strategies of this board to control parent voice and millions of dollars coming into the district won't be forgotten by those who so strongly oppose this questionable appointment. 

While education law may not forbid a board of education from hiring a superintendent without conducting a search and subsequent interviews, the current board should have understood that "just because you CAN do something, does not mean that you SHOULD do something." The students, parents, teachers and community deserved better than what took place on July 14, 2022.