Protesters marched outside the first Buffalo School Board meeting since the Albany hearing to oust board member Carol Paladino last month. They wielded signs with messages demanding the board and State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia remove Paladino.
The commotion comes as the board attempts to move forward with preparation for the school year.
Comissioner Elia is in the process of reviewing Paladino’s case. The board says he broke the rules when he shared sensitive information from an executive session. Paladino says the push to remove him stems from controversial comments he made about former President and First Lady Barak and Michelle Obama in an issue of Artvoice.
“You’re watching the dysfunction of people who have no idea what they’re doing, and that dysfunction should result in the dismissal of the entire board,” Paladino said Wednesday after the meeting.
Board President Barbara Nevergold said the focus of the board is now on the future.
“Board members do have differences of opinion and they express those freely, so this is no different than other board meetings that we’ve had, but we’re focused on really moving forward.”
In the meantime, Paladino says he expects a decision from the Education Department in the next 60 to 90 days, and if he doesn’t agree with the decision he plans to be back in court.
