Buffalo School Board elections are today
Buffalo School Superintendent James A. Williams is not on today’s Board of Education election ballot, but he might just as well be.
The outcome of the voting will determine whether Williams retains his slim 5-4 majority on the board or faces a dissident majority.
Three at-large board seats are up for grabs, and the incumbents — Catherine Collins, Christopher L. Jacobs and Florence D. Johnson— are all strong supporters of Williams.
The board’s six district seats are not on the ballot this year, since elections are staggered.
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
If all the incumbents are reelected, Williams is expected to retain consistent, if fractured, board support on key issues.
If one or more of the challengers wins, Williams will likely have a hard time advancing his initiatives, or even keeping his job.
Williams, who has declined to comment on the election, was hired in 2005 by an 8-1 vote and received near-unanimous support for two years. But since 2007, he has struggled to maintain a slim board majority favorable to his proposals. He is under contract through June 2011, but staying until then could prove untenable if he can’t craft a board majority.
“I think right now he is one of the hot issues — whether he stays on in a leadership role or moves on,” said Marlies A. Wesolowski, a former Board of Education president who is now director of a community organization.
Challengers John B. Licata, Rosalind J. Hampton and Bryon McIntyre are running together as a “Students First” coalition and are closely aligned with current board members who are critical of Williams.
Patricia E. Devis and Rebekah A. Williams, the other two challengers, also have been critical of Williams’ stewardship.
They point to the district’s dismal 46 percent graduation rate, expenditures of more than $100,000 on meals and travel for Board of Education members in the last 18 months, payment of $6 million on an outside consultant whose work was blasted in a state audit and the financial support the incumbents received from business interests in the election campaign.
The incumbents say the end of social promotion, longer school days and school years and greatly expanded Advanced Placement courses will help the system turn the corner on student achievement. They also say their experience is a valuable tool in guiding reform.
Board elections traditionally are marked by low voter turnouts. Wesolowski said that magnifies the importance of special interest groups — such as labor, business or political organizations — at the expense of parents and unaffiliated citizens.
“I just wish more people would go to the polls and actually vote,” Wesolowski said. “With a small turnout, one vote here and another vote there can make a difference.”
Challenger Fred Y. Yellen was removed from the ballot because of insufficient nominating signatures. People who already have voted for him on absentee ballots can cast a ballot instead for another candidate by voting in person today, according to the Erie County Board of Elections.
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