State Education Commissioner Mary-Ellen Elia has denied two "stay" requests to have Carl Paladino immediately tossed from the Buffalo School District's Board of Education.
This is the first action Elia has taken since receiving four petitions seeking the Buffalo developer's broader removal from the BoE.
“The submission of pleadings and papers in these cases, as well as in two other pending appeals, will continue,” Education Department Spokesperson Emily DeSantis said.
The petitions are in response to controversial comments Paladino made in an Artvoice article in December 2016. Paladino wished death and disease upon then-President Barack Obama, and wished then-First Lady Michelle Obama would live in the African outback with wild animals.
Paladino has since apologized for his remarks, and has maintained he will fight the petitions in court or at a removal hearing, if and when the proceedings reach that level.
"Upon receipt of all papers, the Commissioner will decide whether a removal hearing is warranted," DeSantis said.
Removal applications have been submitted by four groups/people, according to the State Education Department: The Buffalo CSD Board of Education, Sam Radford, Buffalo Parent-Teachers Organization, and a collection of five Buffalo teachers/residents/taxpayers.
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