AMHERST, N.Y. (WBEN).....Having an influential bully pulpit as chair of the state Assembly's Ethics Committee, Assemblymember Karen McMahon has a lot of amassed clout in Albany.
That's why her support of fellow Assemblymen Jon Rivera (and soon to be State Senator) and his proposal to have a state education department-backed, independent monitor be assigned to the embattled Buffalo School Board - and, by extension the city school district - carries a lot of clout.
While McMahon's district covers the Town of Amherst, she believes the ripple effect from the controversy-laden Buffalo School Board impacts all of the Buffalo Niagara region.
"Everyone wants the Buffalo schools and its students to succeed," McMahon said. "It impacts all of us.:"
The controversies hovering in and around the Buffalo School Board are well-documented They range from sexual harassment allegations to a $60 million budget deficit to possible school closures and relocating other schools.
That's why Rivera is pushing for the education department-backed monitor - something that was discussed, at length, late last month when state Education Commissioner Dr. Betty Rosa met with local leaders.
A formal vote from Albany lawmakers won't happen until January when they reconvene.
McMahon said having a monitor in place will not only help the school board, the monitor's impact could trickle down to the district's 30,000-plus students.
"We want to make sure Buffalo students get all the great opportunities they deserve," McMahon said
Among the issues that remain unresolved with the school board are sexual and personal harassment claims filed by female employees in the district office that have leveled against former Superintendent Dr. Pascal Mubenga and Central District representative Lewis "Muki" Hawkins.
McMahon said she favors board members undertaking annual courses that address sexual and personal harassment.
Most public and private employers mandate that workers undertake an annual course that addresses those issues.
Dr. Kathy Evans-Brown, during the school board's August 19 meeting, said that may soon be new policy for board in light of the allegations filed against Mubenga and Hawkins.
"It makes sense to keep that training at the top of mind," McMahon said.
McMahon, Assembly Ethics Committee chair, thinks a monitor will help the board and school district.
McMahon, Assembly Ethics Committee chair, thinks a monitor will help the board and school district.
