Kriner Cash's time as superintendent of Buffalo Public Schools has come to an end.
The School Board unanimously approved a termination agreement with Cash on Wednesday night after days of speculation about the future of the superintendent.
Superintendent Kriner Cash was front and center at news conferences on Feb. 9 after a student was stabbed and a security guard was shot outside McKinley High School. But on Saturday, when the district announced its plans for bringing students back into the school, Cash was nowhere to be seen.
The board named Dr. Tonja M. Williams, associate superintendent of student support services, to serve as interim superintendent while a search is conducted for a successor to Cash. She said she might want the permanent position.
Williams, a lifelong Buffalonian, said her parents met at East High School and she graduated from Riverside High School, which is where, Williams said, she intended to hold a news conference about her plans for the district next week.
"I am, through and through, a Buffalonian. I know the children. I know the parents. I know this community," she said.
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"He knew about violence problems at our school for years and did not provide a safe working and learning environment," states the resolution by BTF's Council of Delegates.
She added that she was excited and elated.
"It's a new day," said Williams, who earned a bachelor's degree from Medaille College, a master's from Canisius College and doctorate from St. John Fisher College in Rochester.
"There are two priorities that I would bring to the table: The first is to ensure that all of our students are safe. The second is that we are prioritizing an excellent education for our students," Williams said.
Cash, who was not at Wednesday's meeting, issued a statement that was shared with school district parents.
"It has been my distinct privilege to serve the children and families of the Buffalo Public Schools," Cash said. "You have a fine school system. Take full advantage of all of the wonderful array of programs and services it has to offer. Best wishes for continued success!"
The terms of the agreement between the district and Cash were not disclosed. Board President Louis Petrucci said the agreement was to be executed Wednesday night.
He said the agreement came about "within the recent days."
"We wish Dr. Cash well in his future endeavors," Petrucci said. "We're looking forward to moving forward with our new superintendent and going down a new path and doing different things."
Security guards and administrators will be strategically placed, and Peacemakers will be stationed at the front corners of the building, helping students with safe passage, said McKinley Principal Moustafa Khalil.
Cash faced a number of crises as superintendent, including the nearly two-year long pandemic that had Buffalo students learning remotely longer than any other school district in the state. But his departure comes just three weeks after a McKinley High School student was stabbed, a security guard was shot and a second student suffered a grazing wound outside the school Feb. 9.
Cash was at the school on the night of the shooting and spoke at a news conference as parents of about 100 students still inside the locked down school waited for their children to be released.
But he was out of town on a planned vacation during the February break and on family leave this week. A 12-page plan for security measures at McKinley was sent out to the media Saturday, signed by an acting superintendent and not Cash. And he was not present for a press conference later that day as media were invited to tour the school and learn more about the plan.
The violence at McKinley came after teachers had complained for months about safety concerns. The Buffalo Teachers Federation Council of Delegates issued a vote of no confidence in Cash about a week after the violence over security issues at McKinley and other schools.
"Common sense would dictate that the administration of the school would make sure that this child had safe passage from school at the end of the day, and they neglected to do that," said John V. Elmore, attorney for Aurielle Austin, Sirgio Jeter's mother.
Teachers union President Phil Rumore said the resignation saves the district from a long legal challenge.
“He has done some good things in Buffalo, but I think it was the right thing to do to accept responsibility and move on,” Rumore said.
In response to the no confidence vote, Cash issued a statement noting the turnaround in the district over his tenure, and he said "no performative tactics" of the union or others would deter his commitment to steering the Buffalo Public Schools through the challenging times.
"It is an especially professionally challenging environment for teachers, administrators, support staff and superintendents, and I commend and empathize with the challenges our staff face each and every day," the statement issued Feb. 18 said. "As superintendent, I have dedicated my life and career to public education and to providing greater equity, access, opportunity, and quality to the thousands of students I was hired to serve."
Some board members enthusiastically voted yes to accept Cash’s resignation and appoint Williams, and administrators applauded the appointment of one of their colleagues.
“I’m feeling very inspired today,” at-large board member Lawrence Scott said. "I think the board is united today. I think there is a refreshing sense among us in this room.”
School Board members also voted Wednesday to hire an independent security consultant to examine the facts and circumstances surrounding the McKinley incident, the security at the high school and all other district buildings.
Cash was appointed superintendent in 2015, he was the seventh superintendent or interim superintendent in Buffalo in four years. Former state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia recommended him for the job. He came into a district mired in controversy.
The board had spent more than a year on failed efforts to recruit a superintendent. It had interviewed five candidates, including three internal candidates, but could not agree on a finalist.
Despite learning remotely for most of last year, more than 2,000 students graduated from Buffalo Public Schools.
School Board members were at odds with each other and the district had some of the lowest performing schools in the state. At the same time, Cash's appointment came with state receivership powers that would allow him to make sweeping changes that circumvent both the School Board and union contracts at those schools. Cash was appointed two weeks after he was interviewed.
His appointment was met with great optimism.
Former School Board president at the time, James Sampson, declared Cash “the right candidate at the right time for this community" after all seven members of the oft-divided School Board who attended the meeting on his hire voted to do so.
He brought a “New Education Bargain” – a plan that stressed, among other things, more rigorous elementary education, new innovative high schools and more services for the neediest of children and their families.
Cash had served as superintendent of Memphis City Schools and Martha's Vineyard Public Schools, and as chief of accountability and systemwide performance for Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
When he came to Buffalo, nearly half of the city’s schools were facing an outside takeover, or receivership, within the next year or two. Buffalo’s schools' graduation rate hovered around 50%, and English and math proficiency in many schools was below 10 percent. The last contract with the Buffalo Teachers Federation had had long expired.
