Ralph R. Hernandez won re-election as president of the Buffalo Board of Education in a 5-4 vote Thursday, but it cost him the support of one of his most influential backers.

To win the presidency, Hernandez pulled together a slate of supporters that included board newcomer Jason

M. McCarthy of the North District as well as Christopher L. Jacobs, both of whom are seen as sympathetic to charter schools.

That did not sit well with Buffalo Teachers Federation President Philip Rumore, who had endorsed Hernandez this year in his bid for re-election to the West District seat on the board.

“[Hernandez] sacrificed his integrity for the sake of obtaining the presidency,” Rumore said. “We are certainly sorry we supported him. It’ll be a cold day before the BTF endorses him again.”

Hernandez drew criticism last year, also, for crafting a coalition of support that crossed ideological lines in order to get the five votes he needed to become board president.

Despite that, the teachers union helped bankroll his campaign this year. The union also picked up the tab for more than $2,000 in legal bills Hernandez accrued as he fought off an effort to get him thrown off the ballot on technicalities.

“What’s that saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” Rumore said.

Hernandez did not return phone calls seeking comment Thursday night.

The re-election of Hernandez as president was anything but certain in the days and hours leading up to the vote on the eighth floor of City Hall.

A day before the vote, three board members were vying for the presidency: Park District member Louis J. Petrucci, Jacobs and Hernandez. When Petrucci could not line up the votes he needed, at-large member John B. Licata threw his hat into the ring. But no one seemed able to solidify the five votes they needed.

Jacobs, an at-large member, decided to support Hernandez. “I supported him last year, and I ended up doing the same this year,” Jacobs said. “I just determined it was in the best interest of the leadership team.”

Less than an hour before the meeting began, it became clear that Licata did not have enough votes, so Petrucci’s group decided to nominate Central District representative Mary Ruth Kapsiak.

Many on the board saw East District member Vivian O. Evans as the swing vote. She backed Hernandez.

In an interview after the meeting, Evans said Hernandez has been instrumental in building a better relationship with Superintendent James A. Williams and the teachers union. “Mr. Hernandez is very instrumental when it comes to negotiating,” she said. “He listens very clearly to both sides, and he puts together a plan that’s very doable. He manages to bring people to a compromise.”

Kapsiak and Ferry District member Pamela D. Perry-Cahill joined Petrucci and Licata in voting against Hernandez. Jacobs, McCarthy, Evans and at-large member Florence D. Johnson supported Hernandez.

Jacobs was elected vice president of executive affairs, and Evans vice president of student achievement, each with the same five-vote coalition that elected Hernandez.