BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) While the Buffalo School Board is poised to appoint interim school superintendent Dr. Tonja Williams as permanent superintendent during a special meeting Thursday, school advocate Sam Radford of We The Parents called it very surprising, given that there was no search or posting of the job.
"This is not a reflection of her," said Radford on WBEN Thursday morning. "This is more of a reflection of the board of education. I don't think the board is doing its due diligence by hiring a superintendent without interviewing candidates and posting the job."
Williams was appointed interim schools chief in March. She has worked for Buffalo Public Schools since 1990. Buffalo is the second largest school district in New York State.
Radford called Williams a great communicator. "After the last couple of years with Dr. Kriner Cash, who was ineffective in being responsive to the community, she has been a big improvement over that and we have a great relationship with her." Cash resigned from the post just before Williams was appointed interim schools chief.
Buffalo was the last school district in the state to bring students back during Covid.
"We are coming off a situation where our kids were two or three grade levels behind before the pandemic." Radford pointing to standardized testing that showed that about three-quarters of Buffalo students weren't able to read, write and perform math at grade level in the 2018-19 school year.
"We need a superintendent with a plan on how we are going to increase academic achievement. Our schools have not been safe. We need a plan to ensure our kids' safety. And," Radford said, "during the last school year, our kids were not picked up on time. We need to know for sure that every child is going to be picked up every day, safely, and on time."
Admitting that Williams could turn out to be the best candidate, Radford questions the rush. "She could be interim superintendent for a year, and if she turns out to be the best candidate, let's all embrace her. We will work with whoever is superintendent. We want her to be, and will help her to be successful. But it does not absolve the board from this irresponsible act."
Radford has watched superintendents come and go in Buffalo since the mid 1990's. "This is unprecedented, to not conduct a search. I've never seen this. This is a billion dollar corporation. There is a process that you have to go through so that, we, as taxpayers, understand that we got the best person possible."
Radford also questions whether hiring Williams is legal, without a search and without posting the job. Either way, he argued, it's not ethical. He concluded, "something about this just doesn't pass the smell test."
