Tonja Williams received something akin to a hero’s welcome Thursday evening as the Buffalo School Board voted unanimously to make her the district’s permanent superintendent.
She vowed to work tirelessly on behalf of the students.
“We will become a model district for this country,” she said. “We will have equity in everything that we do.”
The schools will be welcoming to all, overcoming low expectations and inspiring excellence, she said.
“And we will be results driven,” Williams said. “There’s accountability for everybody, me included.”
The mayor, the Common Council president, clergy members, union leaders, retired administrators and parents packed the Council chambers in City Hall to show their support for Williams, hailing her as the hometown hero who will bring excellence to Buffalo schools.
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Even the state education commissioner showed up to offer kudos.
“I am so thrilled that you are taking this action tonight,” Commissioner Betty Rosa told the School Board, via Zoom. “This is an incredible choice. Dr. Williams is going to really commit to a high quality education for all the students in Buffalo.”
Rosa and many others on Thursday pointed to Williams’ intimate knowledge of Buffalo as reason to believe that she would be able to achieve positive results that eluded many previous superintendents.
“Dr. Williams is the right fit for this district,” said East District Board Member Kathy Evans-Brown. “We all felt the same way. Because she’s homegrown, she has a passion for this district. We look forward to better days, and we also look forward to supporting Dr. Williams in this tough, tough role as superintendent.”
In the past four months as interim superintendent, board members said, she has dramatically improved communication between the superintendent’s office and the School Board, as well as with the community at large.
“She has been upfront not only about what is going well, but about what needs improvement,” said Larry Scott, an at-large board member.
“Dr. Williams is Buffalo. She is one of us,” he said. “She is the right leader at the right time for the Buffalo Public Schools.”
An alumna of Riverside High School who grew up on the East Side, Williams said she understands the city and its students.
“I am them, and they are me,” she said.
“I want to thank my family for sharing me and giving so much of my time to support and help my 31,000 other children,” she said. “I’ve got two biological, but I’ve got 31,000 in this district.”
Williams ticked off a list of highlights from her 96 days as interim superintendent: reinstating the afterschool program, hiring security guards, hiring bus aides, negotiating three union contracts, resuming meetings with the Parent Congress.
“We are doing a lot,” she said. “We have successfully closed out a school year in spite of Covid, in spite of a mass shooting, in spite of a shooting at a school.”
Williams was hired in the district 32 years ago as a school counselor and rose through the ranks. In early March, the board tapped her to serve as interim superintendent when Kriner Cash resigned.
Cash was not mentioned by name during the 90-minute board meeting. But several people who took to the microphone to offer congratulations to the new superintendent alluded to the previous one, who was widely criticized for his lack of engagement with the community.
And before Cash, the board had recruited several other superintendents from out of town who failed to make improvements dramatic enough to impress some people.
“This board has kissed a few frogs,” said the Rev. James Lewis, chaplain of the Buffalo Police Department.
Williams offered gratitude to all of her supporters. And she acknowledged that some people fault the board for not conducting a national search for a permanent superintendent.
“Because I’m a lady, I will respect that,” she said. “But I will ask that you step off and stand to the side as we get to the business of moving this district forward.”
