BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) "Something is going to happen at the special board meeting," parent advocate Sam Radford said on WBEN Wednesday morning. "My gut says they're probably looking to move on (from Superintendent Kriner Cash) and something along those lines will happen tonight."
"Do you think Kriner Cash will be out after tonight?," Radford was asked. "Yes," he answered. "There are too many issues right now for a Superintendent to not be here."
Superintendent Cash has not been seen publicly in the district since Friday, February 11, two days after an act of violence outside McKinley High School in which a student was stabbed and a security guard was shot.
District representatives say Cash was on vacation last week, and this week, he is taking off for family reasons.
"I can't imagine that the Board of Education would approve a vacation for the Superintendent," said Radford. "With this McKinley issue going on, and the mask issue, there are just too many issues for the district right now."
On the mask issue, the district changed its position late Tuesday night, saying masks are no longer required starting Wednesday, just 24 hours after saying masks would be required for the remainder of the week.
"Much better planning should have gone into that. You need to give parents way more notice than that," he said.
Radford, with the group "We The Parents," said he does not have any confirmation about what may go down at Wednesday night's meeting. WBEN has learned that the board may vote for an independent investigation into the violence at McKinley High school. Radford believes the board may also look into a deal involving terms of separation for Superintendent Cash.
This follows a tumultuous three weeks in the district which included a confusing decision on lifting the mask mandate, violence at McKinley, and a vote of no confidence in Superintendent Cash by the Buffalo Teachers Union.
On top of that, Radford said a grading scandal is starting to bubble up with teachers talking about being forced to change test grades.
"This is a good time to have somebody new in there, who can bring people together and help the district refocus so it can turn the corner." Radford said when Cash first came to Buffalo, he said he was going to turn the district around and then move on. Seven years later, Radford said in his opinion, Cash never moved into Buffalo, and never got to know the community.
"If we move on from the superintendent today, my hope is that we get somebody who knows the community, knows its history, its culture and is someone who is able to have real relationships."
Asked about great superintendents who have served the district, Radford said you have to go back to Eugene Reville who served the district for 14 years, during the 1970's. "All Superintendents have something meaningful to contribute. I thought Dr. Williams did some good things, James Harris did
some good things. Even Marion Canedo did some good things. But when you talk about a superintendent that was long-tenured and made significant change, Gene Reville was the one," he said. Reville was credited with successfully desegregating Buffalo's schools.
Radford said Cash did some positive things in his first few years with the district. "He settled the teachers contract but he got to the point, in my opinion, where he got a little arrogant and did not work well with the community and he didn't pan out to be somebody who was one of us."
Should the board move to oust Cash, Radford said current assistant Superintendent Casandra Wright would be very capable. "She is actually, in my opinion, one of the most experienced in the district. She's been a teacher, a principal, she's worked in the Central office. She is probably one of the most qualified and has great relationships with parents. She is the kind of leader who can bring people together right now."
