UPDATE: The board wasted no time in selecting a candidate Monday, voting to nominate Roscoe Henderson — a retired Buffalo police investigator — to fill the seat.
Three board members abstained from the vote: Erik Bohen, Adrianna Zullich, and board member Larry Scott.
However, I obtained a letter early Monday evening that was sent to the school board president from the NYSED Education Commissioner. Dr. Betty Rosa. It states in part that she was writing in response to a letter she received from Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan, dated July 19, regarding the appointment of a member to the board of education.
Rosa wrote, "The Mayor recommends that the board refrain from filling a vacant position until the board resolves pending allegations against a board member and former superintendent."
The letter also states that NYSED "supports the Mayor's request" and that "adding a new individual to the board during this time will only consume district resources and detract from the work needed to resolve the investigation."
The commissioner said the board should keep the seat vacant at this time.
But now Henderson is expected to be sworn in during a special session at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
Board member Larry Scott released the following statement:
"After receiving the correspondence from the Commissioner, which is now public, I did not feel that it was prudent to proceed with the board voting on the appointment, especially given the reasons that the Commissioner cited, and hence, why I abstained from voting."
Board Member Erik Bohen released the following statement:
"I respect the Commissioner’s authority and I agree with her recommendation."
ORIGINAL: The Buffalo School Board interviewed six candidates Monday to fill a vacant north district seat, even as sexual harassment allegations swirl around a current board member and the former superintendent.
Late last week, the district's equity officer filed a complaint accusing former Superintendent Dr. Pascal Mubenga and current board member Muki Hawkins of sexual harassment.
Dr. Kathy Evans-Brown, the school board president, addressed the turbulent moment facing the district.
"We believe that we're going to fight through this chaos," Evans-Brown said.
The board moved forward with the interview process despite the allegations.
I asked Erik Bohen, Park District board member, how he felt about a board member under allegations of participating in the process.
"It's a distraction, but we have to learn to deal with this...and go forward," Bohen said.
The vacancy stems from the resignation of North District board member Cindi McEachon in June. McEachon stepped down citing concerns about a lack of transparency by board leadership.
Evans-Brown acknowledged the perception of a transparency problem.
"Sometimes it feels like we're not being transparent, but there's a lot of confidential information and things that we can talk about, and so I think that's really the key issue here," Evans-Brown said.
Board member Janita Everhart described the difficulty in navigating the situation.
"We didn't really know how to handle it. At first, it was advised by some lawyers that we tell the full board everything, and then the state advised -- no," Everhart said.
I also asked Evans-Brown whether Hawkins should recuse himself from decision-making given the allegations against him.
"According to the school of law, he has not been, you know. We can't retaliate. We can't, you know, speculate. The commissioner of education doesn't have an opportunity to intervene. He has all rights and authority as any board member at this time," Evans-Brown said.
Hawkins participated in the interview process, declined to comment, and has refused to resign, saying the "truth will come out."
Board member Adrianna Zullich had initially called for Hawkins to resign last week, but stopped short of repeating that call Monday.
"I'm going to defer to the president at this time," Zullich said.
Evans-Brown responded that any board member is free to voice their position.
"Any board member have an opinion, and they could say what their position is," Evans-Brown said.
Evans-Brown also addressed the legal guidance the board received regarding disclosure of information to board members.
"We were advised legally by the education department not to disclose that to board members. The leadership have privy to that information, just for clarity," Evans-Brown said.
WATCH: Buffalo's school board picks a new member amid major controversy
The New York State Education Department issued a statement saying Commissioner Rosa spoke with Assemblymember Rivera about concerns raised by the local delegation and legislative options, and that the department is also in contact with district leadership.
When asked about an anticipated update or release of results from the Hodgson Russ investigation, Evans-Brown deferred to the board's lead attorney, with an unnamed source indicating a final report is expected in at least a week.
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