Dr. Williams grades himself

Outgoing superintendent Dr. James Williams is asked to grade his performance in Buffalo by channel 2's Claudia Ewing. The only thing funnier than Williams' response is Ewing's response to it. Classic local interview...

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First day of school

The refurbished Southside Elementary School opened today. Outgoing schools' Superintendent James Williams was on hand. He says the Buffalo schools are not as bad as people think. Which explains why anyone with the financial wherewithal to do so, has left the district...

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Petrucci gave Dr. Williams sweetheart deal to retire

Lou "Pinocchio" Petrucci is selling out the taxpayers once again, pictured here with fellow liar Ray McGurn and the blue headed guy from the William Kennedy Smith trial.

Channel 2 reports that school board president Lou Petrucci has given Dr. James Williams much more than he was entitled to to retire. In exchange for $10,000, Dr. "It's all about the children" Williams will agree to answer the phone for the next six months. How can Petrucci and the rest of the board even conceive of doing this at a time when they are laying off teachers and increasing class sizes? Petrucci is flat out incompetent and should be removed. We are calling on the control board to shoot down this ill conceived buyout plan...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- 2 On Your Side has confirmed that a deal struck between the Buffalo School Board and outgoing Superintendent Dr. James Williams would give him more money than his contract required.

A source with direct knowledge of the negotiations says Dr. Williams would receive $110,000 (or six months salary) as stipulated by his contract's no fault termination clause, even though he ended up retiring before he was terminated.

The agreement, which has not yet been released by the legal department, would also give Dr. Williams $10,000 for "consulting fees", according to the source. Dr. Williams would receive that money for "agreeing to answer his phone" for the next 6 months, we're told.

The source said Dr. Williams would also receive "around $8,000" in unused vacation time.

Supt. Williams To Receive More Money Than Contract Required | wgrz.com

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Which is it Lou?

Don't say I didn't warn you about this guy. The mainstream media might not hold these clowns accountable, but we do around here. Please watch this short clip carefully. Buffalo School Board President Lou Petrucci tells a WIVB reporter how he and the school board are dead set against creating a position for a new administrator for the six failing Buffalo schools. But just a few days ago, Pinocchio told a WGRZ reporter how badly the position was needed! Obviously, Phil Rumore had a talk with him between interviews.


It's so funny how Petrucci changes his views based on what he is told to do. A month ago, he voted in favor of giving Folasade Longlastname a ridiculously generous buyout. After the public's understandable outrage, Petrucci had the nerve to speak out against the buyout. Dude. You voted in favor of it! Come on, Dave McKinley. Put a camera in this guy's face and ask him how he can be so hypocritical?

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Board votes to keep Williams for one more year

The Buffalo School Board, led by Ralph Pornandez, have decided to keep Dr. Williams around for another year. No surprise there. What I did find surprising was this quote from school board member Lou Petrucci...

Petrucci said he had been hearing a number of concerns from his constituents in South Buffalo regarding Williams staying on for another year. Among them: public statements Williams had made indicating he thought the next superintendent should be black.

He said other concerns included the year's salary and benefits that the board recently approved for outgoing Deputy Superintendent Folasade Oladele, along with the recent drop in Buffalo's four-year graduation rate -- from 53 percent to 47 percent.

Yeah Lou. If you think the constituents are upset about you voting for Oladele's $168,000 buyout, wait until election time. There either was a shady deal here or you are completely oblivious to the way people in South Buffalo feel about city hall types. To vote for this buyout was unconscionable and the people I've spoken to are angry about it. The entire school board should be removed.
Board will not terminate superintendent's contract

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Blogger executes order #66: Williams on his way out

I've been calling for Dr. Williams head for awhile now. As soon as order #66 is executed, it will be time for others members of his administration to follow suit. Williams and company had a chance to make a difference. He came here vowing to make reforms. Instead, he/they chose to go with the typically corrupt members of Buffalo's status quo. What they took for granted was the Blogger's ability to relay information to the people. From WGRZ...

Buffalo, N.Y. -- Buffalo's School Board met in executive session Wednesday night for more than two hours and spent part of that time discussing the future of Superintendent Dr. James Williams.

Sources tell 2 On Your Side they want to buy out his contract, which could cost more than $100,000.

A few weeks ago, Williams announced that he will leave his job one year from now. Wednesday night, he said he has no further comment and had no reaction to the rumors that the board wants him to leave much sooner than his retirement date.

Here is some footage of order #66 being carried out. Stay tuned. There will be more carnage to come in city hall, sooner rather than later. Mark the Blogger's words...

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Dr. Williams' retirement

Will Superintendent James Williams last one more year? He announced last week, he will retire at the end of the 2011/2012 school year. Local businessman Carl Paladino and others feel Dr. Williams needs to leave sooner. Paladino thinks the one year extension is simply an effort to cover up fraud and waste taking place within the district. It will be interesting to see how this thing plays out.


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Buffalo schools could be state run soon

It looks like some career politicians are calling for the state to take over the Buffalo Public Schools...

Hoyt said Tuesday that he is researching the possibility of a state takeover of the district.

"I am fed up with the leadership in the district and the leadership of the board," Hoyt wrote in an e-mail. "I believe that both the superintendent and the board have shown an inability to seriously address the crisis facing our inner-city youth."

Isn't it nice that a man chasing around 21 year old interns in Albany for 20 years, now fancies himself as an expert on education? Hoyt, who'd be stocking shelves at WalMart had his father not been Assemblyman Bill Hoyt, is clearly in the pocket of the charter school lobby. But if their plan calls for the removal of Superintendent Williams and the entire Board of Education, I have to say I'm all for it.

The Superintendent has been a major disappointment and the Board is too busy looking up pornography on district issued laptops to get anything done. They should all be removed starting with Ralph Pornandez and Pinocchio Petrucci.

State takeover of city schools hinted

www.buffalonews.com

At the end of this clip, Hoyt continues his role as paid spokesperson for the charter schools by saying, "There is strong evidence that the state is finally getting it's act together." It's about time, loser. You've only been in Albany for 20 years. Someone needs to pull the hook on this bozo...

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Williams on way out, Kane should be next

Superintendent James Williams is all but out the door. His decision to skip a meeting with New York state Deputy Education commissioner John King all but solidifies an end to his tumultuous reign of incompetence in Buffalo. From Mary Pasciak of the Buffalo News...

Buffalo School Superintendent James A. Williams is losing the confidence of a growing number of influential people, many of whom complain that the district botched its plans for the city's failing schools and consistently mishandles other long-standing issues confronting the system.

Among those losing faith in Williams are most of the stakeholders in the district: School Board members, parents, teachers, much of the business community, the local Regent and perhaps even the state Education Department.

The dissatisfaction with Williams reached a critical stage late last week, when the No. 2 person in the state Education Department came to Buffalo for a fact-finding mission to see how the school district is going to deal with nine of the city's most troubled schools.

If this blog contributed to informing residents of the Buffalo Public Schools corrupt administration in even the smallest of ways, I am grateful. People are now calling for an all out boycott of students on May 16th.

Many of the people who spoke with King last week say they believe the next two weeks will be a do-or-die time for the district -- and for Williams.

"The performance of the schools is really troubling," King said in a phone interview Friday evening. "Clearly the performance is not what anyone would want."

With Williams clearly on his way out, some senior members of his administration, and their ridiculously high salaries, need to follow him, quickly. Suburban resident James Kane has a preference for hiring the spoiled offspring of his politically connected friends. He is Williams' chief of staff, a position he inherited by virtue of being the entitled son of longtime political operative Don Kane. Kane has forgotten the lessons he learned growing up on Seneca Street. He has abandoned his roots and now only advocates for the politically connected from more affluent parts of the city (and suburbs). Personally, I've moved on to plan B but I can tell you this: As soon as the new superintendent comes to town, this blog will do everything in it's power to call for a complete housecleaning over at city hall, and that has to start with Buffalo's highest paid residency violator, James Kane. 2,500 people read my words last week, Kano. By this summer, it will be 5,000 a week, or I will die trying. You had a chance to advocate for someone outside of your comfort zone. You f**ked up, brother! We're spending $22,000/student each year in Buffalo and the results have been horrendous. The graduation rates are abysmal. You betrayed the Blogger. It's time for you to go...

Loss of faith in Williams reaches critical stage - Schools - The Buffalo News



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55 is the new 30 (hours, that is)

Our quote of the week comes from Superintendent James Williams' chief of staff, former Buffalo resident James Kane: Because they are not in a union, they can put in longer hours, he said. "I'm probably in the 55-hour range [per week], myself. Some weeks I go over," he said.

Bahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahhahahaahha! 55 hour months, maybe. You could combine Kane's weekly hours with his sister's (Bonnie "Garbage Tax" Kane-Lockwood's,


and it still wouldn't amount to 55 hours a week!

James Kane has the ear of a select few in the local political crowd. The Blogger has the ear of thousands of fed up Buffalo school parents and teachers. I think it might be time to get a petition going asking Dr. Williams to resign and take Kano with him. Respect is a two way street and enough is enough.



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Last call for Dr. Williams

Since the inception of this blog, I've been saying the Buffalo Board of Education under Superintendent James Williams is saturated with suits hiding in office buildings, sharpening pencils. The Buffalo News did their own research and came out with this eye opening article today...

Since Superintendent James A. Williams arrived in Buffalo nearly six years ago, the number of central office administrators in the district has more than doubled.

There are now 28 non-union administrators in the Buffalo Public Schools, according to employment contracts obtained by The Buffalo News through a Freedom of Information Law request.

That's up from 13 in 2004-05, district officials say.

The increase in administrators working in City Hall came during a period marked by falling enrollment, school closings and a growing deficit that is projected at $62 million for next year.

The salaries and benefits for City Hall administrators cost taxpayers $7.1 million in 2009, the most recent year for which the state had figures available, compared with $5.3 million for the smaller group five years earlier -- an increase of 34 percent.

So if you're scoring at home, the number of students enrolled in the Buffalo schools has decreased dramatically yet the number of suits wasting our tax dollars has more than doubled...

"Why do we have all these exempt employees when we don't have as many children as we had when we had 13 [exempt employees]?" asked Central District board member Mary Ruth Kapsiak, who is a retired union administrator in the district.

Some of the job titles that are new since Williams arrived include: deputy superintendent; associate superintendent for educational services; lead community superintendent; community superintendent (there are three); associate superintendent for teaching and learning (one for elementary, one for secondary); human resources partner (there are two); executive administrator; and special assistant to the superintendent for community relations.

It's time for a change. Dr. Williams was brought here to do a job he is obviously incapable of doing. He needs to be removed. The money he has wasted on James Kane and their ragtag bunch would be much better spent on hiring more teachers in the classrooms. It's no wonder so many parents are opting to send their children to charter schools. They actually use the money to educate students and not for political patronage positions...

Williams' growing (and pricey) entourage - Schools - The Buffalo News

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He's not a doctor but he plays one on TV

On Wednesday, Superintendent James Williams told channel 2's Josh Boose he would quit before accepting the governor's proposed pay cut to $175,000/yr. Yesterday, he curiously accused the media of making it up...

On about the third go-round, a TV reporter asked the superintendent: "If a new contract was given to you today, and the cap was $175,000, would you stay?"

"No, I would not stay," Williams replied.

By Thursday morning, however, the superintendent contradicted himself — and accused the media of "making up" reports that he said he would leave if the salary cap went into effect.

Here is the video that the media "made up" where Dr. Williams clearly says what they reported he said. If one of the goals of this blog was to drive Dr. Williams and local residency violator James Kane insane, I have to say mission accomplished. Wait a minute. Is that Memphis on the line?

Williams retracts possible exit

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Goodnight Dr. Williams. It's time to go.

Buffalo Superintendent Dr. James Williams tells channel 2's Josh Boose he would resign before taking a pay cut "down" to $175,000/year. Governor Cuomo (ugh! I don't even like saying that) has proposed capping every district superintendent's salary at $175,000. The noise you hear is the collective sound of students, teachers, parents, and community leaders holding the door for him...


I love the part in this clip where Ralph Pornandez says he's "not sure" whether we can hire someone competent for $175,000. I know it's such a paltry number to lead the school district in Amherst's largest suburb. There are so many high paying private sector jobs around here. Why would anyone even apply for such a minimum wage position? Go back to viewing porn on your district issued laptop, Ralphie.

Wasn't it Jack Coyle who was once quoted in the Buffalo News as saying Williams was "a great hire?" Yeah, right. Dr. Williams, residency violator James Kane, and the rest of the senior administrative staff of the Buffalo Public Schools need to go. They've proven to be nothing but failures when it comes to improving the schools. The schools are in utter chaos and teachers and parents see it every day. You had a chance to hire a good teacher, but you chose to pass him over. Now, he's ordering you and Kano to leave city hall and go work at Burger King. It's time for all the people I mentioned (who we all know were only hired because of their family's political connections) to step down. Just like Gaddafi, the community has suffered long enough under your reign of incompetence. Don't threaten to leave. Do it! Good night, sweetheart. The Blogger is telling you it's time to go...

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Lost: $300,000 worth of computers

In this clip, Superintendent Williams dismissively says, "I've got a billion dollar budget and I wasted $300,000? No, actually some people are concerned that you have a billion dollar budget and the inside of our schools look like Kabul, Afghanistan.

How ironic that School Board President Ralph Pornandez is commenting on misuse of computers. This is the same guy whose district issued laptop was found with all sorts of pornographic material downloaded onto it last year. Keep up the great work, guys. Please report to after school detention immediately...


Here is the story involving dirty Ralph Pornandez...

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The superintendent who cried wolf

Remember, last week when Buffalo superintendent James Williams threatened to layoff 900 school employees? Turns out he was just kidding...

Buffalo School Superintendent James A. Williams has been telling television reporters that the district may be forced to lay off as many as 900 district employees during this school year because of state decisions regarding pensions and charter school funding.

But a written report Williams delivered to the school board last week counters that assessment, as a school financial officer sought to clarify what Williams meant.

“We’re looking at pretty close to 900 individuals we would have to lay off,” Williams told WGRZ in response to a question about how many layoffs the district could be looking at this school year.

Williams told YNN of Buffalo the same.

But Williams informed the school board in a memo earlier in the week that a mid-year layoff of 912 people “is not possible, not recommended or being considered by the administration at this time.”

Barbara J. Smith, chief financial officer for the Buffalo Public Schools, said in an interview with The Buffalo News that she wanted to clarify what Williams meant in his comments to TV reporters. The district has no intention of laying off hundreds of people mid-year, she said.

“Nine hundred layoffs? We could never do that. That’s not good for anybody,“ Smith said.

Obviously, these are idol threats Dr. Williams continues to make in front of the TV cameras. As I suggested last week, if Williams wants to let employees go, he should start with his overpaid chief of staff, West Seneca resident James Kane...

Layoffs, charter schools take center stage - Schools - The Buffalo News
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Williams cries wolf again

Dr. James Williams says the Buffalo Schools are going to lay off 900 employees. The problem is we've heard this before. When is he going to do it? Nobody believes him. He's been informed that his chief of staff, James Kane, lives in West Seneca. Why doesn't he start there?

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The letter

A six page scathing letter was released today by the state education department urging the Buffalo Public School's administration to set aside their differences and start working with the individual schools:

“This existence of deep divisions within the district among the adults, along with the countless examples of their cancerous effect, must be set aside and replaced with a culture that continually nurtures and supports all of them in fulfilling their professional responsibilities to the children,” wrote Donald A. Ogilvie, superintendent of Erie 1 Board of Cooperative Educational Services.

Dr. Williams had no comment on the letter's findings, which he kept hidden in a shoebox for the past 12 months. It looks like Williams' on again-off again love affair with school board president Ralph Pornandez is off again...

“This information is slow in coming. It’s very disturbing,” said Ralph R. Hernandez, board president. “Williams did have it. He could have released it. But because it was so harsh on him and his administration and the way he did business, he just left it alone.”

How about these clowns stop looking at pornography and just accept the fact that the consistently poor performing schools are just a reflection of who is living in the city? Families who could afford to move out, did so long ago or send their kids to private schools. The charter schools and the better performing Buffalo Public Schools (ie. Olmstead, Discovery, City Honors) get mostly kids from families involved in their children's education. With some exceptions, the poorer performing schools get what is left. It would be great to see these eggheads stop pointing fingers at each other and comparing test scores and figure out a way to get the parents at these schools involved and help these teachers. By the way, we're still waiting for Dr. Williams to release the list of his administrative staff members and their salaries...
Scathing letter rips culture of city schools - The Buffalo News

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They found the money...

The Buffalo Schools announced they were going to lay off 44 teachers for the upcoming school year:

You might remember a few months ago, when Dr. Williams threatened everyone with over 300 layoffs. As I said at the time, these idle threats are a joke. It might be time to change your playbook, guys. Everyone is on to your lies and empty threats...

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Superintendent Williams-1 Rod Watson-0

I strongly disagree with Rod Watson's collumn in today's Buffalo News. At issue is the suspension debate in Buffalo after the murder of 15 year old Lafayette High School student Jawaan Daniels on Friday. Here are some excepts from the article:

Lafayette High School’s Jawaan Daniels was gunned down at a bus stop after being booted from the building for roaming the halls and sassing adults.

"Sassing adults." Watson should spend a week as a sub in Buffalo and see what really goes on in some of these classrooms. Many of these students (black, white, and Hispanic) have never been taught respect or discipline at home. The "sassing" starts in Kindergarten. The unruly kids think (sometimes correctly) that they run the school. And why shouldn't they? At some schools, the unruly kids outnumber those trying to get an education. Adults in charge just periodically get in the way of their free breakfast, lunch, and socializing. There's more from Watson:

The district needs to let social workers get at the underlying issues that cause kids to misbehave, rather than leave suspensions up to administrators. And schools have to involve parents, the vast majority of whom want the best for their kids but may need guidance in figuring out how to help them.

By the time these kids get to high school, it's too late. Any teacher will tell you, they can spot the troubled kids in Kindergarten. What Watson is saying is: these kids don't have competent parents. It is now up to the teachers to be their parents. How about holding the parents responsible at an early age? The "vast majority" of parents want the best for their kids? Buffalo schools try to involve the parents. Teachers tell me they have parent-teacher conferences where 2 out of 100 parents show up and they are forced to stare at the walls. However, try to discipline their kids and they'll show up with a lawyer at their side. You notice when they gave out $200 for school supplies, all the parents got that memo? Yet, most teachers I talk to say very few of the students in Buffalo bring pens or notebooks to class.

At least Superintendent Williams gets it, and I give him credit for speaking out on WGRZ news yesterday. It sounds like he might even be reading my blog. Good for him. At least I'm getting paid to teach someone in the city:

But Williams says it's something he has been looking at for some time. But changing suspension protocol is just a start.
"The issue in this community are guns," he said. "[And] the failure of the African American males in this city and this country."
"We need to get the parents involved in the decision making of the behavior and treatment of their children and if their parents don't come we need to get these people standing up here be surrogate parents," Williams said.

For a year, I've been saying the biggest problem in the Buffalo schools is disrespect and a lack of discipline by some of the students. Money is not the answer. A change in attitude toward education is required in the poorer neighborhoods (black, white, and Hispanic). Kids in some underdeveloped countries go to school on dirt floors. However, their families value education and the opportunities it presents. They wouldn't think of disrespecting authority. Why do people like Watson think we should tolerate it here?
Rod Watson: City schools' flawed policy proves fatal : Rod Watson : The Buffalo News

The superintendent who cried wolf

Buffalo schools superintendent James Williams must have a short memory. Doesn't he remember when Western New Yorkers laughed Joel Giambra off the local political stage when he came up with his infamous red budget/green budget? Giambra was full of crap and so is Williams. Williams says the city might have to lay off 700 employees (200 teachers) in his worst case scenerio/I'm completely bluffing proposed budget.

My message to Dr. Williams remains the same. Don't talk about layoffs. Do them! Until then, most people will simply view it as another empty threat by you. Still no response from Dr. Williams on Councilman Kearns' request for a list of administrative salaries at the Buffalo Board of Patronage, err, I mean Education. I wonder what they are trying to hide over there.

These big city superintendents are like bad NFL coaches that keep getting recycled and rewarded for their incompetence. Many teachers are starting to read this site, Big Daddy. If you want to start with layoffs, you might want to consider Buffalo's highest paid residency violator James Kane or Jim Comerford's daughter and the no-show job you created for her. You keep coming with the idle threats and I'll keep exposing them for what they are...
'Worst-case' city school budget would lay off 700 : City & Region : The Buffalo News

Here are some comments under the story:

-Williams has a new Executive Assistant who is paid 73k per year. In addition to hiring a PR person to the tune of 70 or 80k per year. Lets start cutting that fat before we take teachers out of classrooms and aides off buses. What happened to going back to neighborhood schools? That would save the district about 40 million. Not to mention eliminating the problems that arise on the buses. There is no reason to bus students all over the city.

-This fool, Williams, proposes cutting 200 teachers and 500 other employees but only 5 administrators? He needs to be taken back to the woodshed. He is the main problem with the BPS system, not the teachers.

-How about the 4 community superintendents whose salaries total half a million dollars ? What about the 7 salary "cabinet" to the superintendent ?

-They are hiding tons of administrators that are teachers that do not teach any kids. They use to house them off of Babcock street.Keep the teachers in the classrooms. Open more charter schools.

-"Can someone explain to me why teachers have a cosmetic rider?

"High School boys like big boobs.

-Todays parents want public schools to be orphanages. Private schools and porochial schools make it mandatory that parents participate in school/teacher/parent programs, otherwise their kids are kicked out and go to public schools.