BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) "This has been on-going for the past five years and it was in both of our interests to come to come to a negotiated settlement," said Lou Petrucci, President of the Buffalo Board of Education following an agreement announced Monday evening by the school district.
On WBEN Tuesday morning, Petrucci said It's time to close the matter and move on so the district can focus on other priorities such as student achievement and security.
Crystal Barton had been on paid administrative leave for almost 5 years during a dispute involving allegations of discrimination against students in the LGBTQ community.
She has been principal of McKinley for 35 years. For the last five years, she has been on paid administrative leave, receiving more than $600,000 from the district.
At one point during the dispute, it had been reported that the district was trying to terminate Barton. The district has come full circle with the offer to
return her to her former job.
Petrucci said he doesn't know if she will take the district up on the offer, but it is an option in front of her at the moment.
"Mrs. Barton was one of our longest tenured and highly regarded principals at McKinley. She achieved many good things. But we really need to put this behind us. The district needs to move on," he added.
Petrucci said this case is unusual because most cases are resolved
in less than five years. During that time, districts are generally paying
for both someone who is on leave as well as someone who is in an acting capacity.
In mid February, Moustafa Khalil, was appointed principal at McKinley High following the stabbing of a student and shooting of a security guard outside the school on February 9.
Is it the hope of the board that Barton does choose to return to her former post, to bring much-needed stability to the school?
"I don't want to speak for Crystal," said Petrucci. This is her option. I don't know what her plans are at this point. Someone from the district will be reaching out to her to see what she wants to do. On the bigger point, yes, schools do better when there is stable, consistent leadership. Petrucci said
a school's culture, leadership and achievement all starts with the principal. A good strong principal will get good results. It's been proven time and again."
