Buffalo Public Schools elections (2016)

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Buffalo Public Schools Elections
General election date:
May 3, 2016
Enrollment (13–14):
34,854 students

With 45 percent of the district's schools deemed "struggling" by the New York State Education Department and a pending lawsuit alleging discrimination in the admissions process for the district's criteria-based schools, the Buffalo Public Schools Board of Education was ripe for a shake up in the general election on May 3, 2016.

Three of the five members of the majority faction on the board were up for election, including majority leader Carl Paladino, North Seat incumbent Jason McCarthy, and 2016 board president James Sampson. All of the majority-aligned incumbents and candidates had their candidacy petitions challenged by the state teachers unions as well as other challengers. The majority faction lost their influence on the board when Paladino was the only member to retain his seat on the board.

See also: Failing schools & discrimination lawsuit and Outside organizations influence the school board race

While the election between former gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino and labor-backed high school student Austin Harig for the Park Seat garnered the most attention, five other seats were up for election. The Central Seat incumbent, Mary Ruth Kapsiak, did not file to run for re-election leaving candidates Paulette Woods and Bryon McIntyre vying for the open seat. East Seat incumbent Theresa Harris-Tigg ran unopposed after challengers Colleen Russell and Patricia Elliott were removed from the ballot as a result of challenges to their candidacy petitions. Elliott and Russell ran as write-in candidates. Ferry Seat incumbent Sharon Belton-Cottman ran unopposed. Candidate Hope Jay challenged incumbent Jason McCarthy for the North Seat, and West Seat incumbent James Sampson ran as a write-in candidate against newcomer Jennifer Mecozzi.[1]

Union-backed candidates Woods, Harris-Tigg, Belton-Cottman, Jay, and Mecozzi defeated their opponents to break up the majority faction on the board. Paladino was the only former majority member to win after he defeated Harig by a slim margin.


Elections

Voter and candidate information

The Buffalo Board of Education consists of nine members. Three members are elected to five-year, at-large terms by the district as a whole, while the other six members are elected to three-year terms by geographical district. There was no primary election, and the six by-district seats were up for general election on May 3, 2016.

The filing deadline for school board candidates to get on the ballot in the general election was April 5, 2016, and the deadline to file a certificate of acceptance or declination was April 8, 2016. Candidates had to file nominating petitions with at least 1,000 legitimate signatures to get on the ballot.[2]

Candidates and results

Central Seat

Results

Buffalo Public Schools,
Central Seat General Election, 3-year term, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Paulette Woods 57.36% 1,329
Bryon McIntyre 42.64% 988
Total Votes 2,317
Source: Erie County, New York, "Buffalo School Board Canvas Book," accessed June 2, 2016

Candidates

Bryon McIntyre Paulette Woods Green check mark transparent.png

Bryon J. McIntyre.jpg

  • Retired firefighter
  • Bachelor's degree, Buffalo State College

Paulette Woods.png

  • Senior budget examnier, Erie County

East Seat

Results

Buffalo Public Schools,
East Seat General Election, 3-year term, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Theresa Harris-Tigg Incumbent (unopposed) 80.10% 922
Write-in votes 19.9% 229
Total Votes 1,151
Source: Erie County, New York, "Buffalo School Board Canvas Book," accessed June 2, 2016

Candidates

Patricia Elliott Theresa Harris-Tigg Green check mark transparent.png Colleen Russell

Patricia Elliott.jpg

  • Write-in candidate
  • Assistant director, Community Action Organization

Theres Harris-Tigg.jpg

  • Incumbent
  • Assistant professor, SUNY at Buffalo
  • Bachelor's degree, D’Youville College
  • Master's degree, Canisius College
  • Doctorate degree, SUNY at Buffalo

Colleen Russell.jpg

  • Write-in candidate
  • Parent facilitator, The Discovery School in Lovejoy

Ferry Seat

Results

Buffalo Public Schools,
Ferry Seat General Election, 3-year term, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Sharon Belton-Cottman Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 1,294
Total Votes 1,294
Source: Erie County, New York, "Buffalo School Board Canvas Book," accessed June 2, 2016

Candidates

Sharon Belton-Cottman Green check mark transparent.png

Sharon Belton-Cottman.png

  • Incumbent
  • Member from 2010-2016
  • Home mortgage consultant, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
  • Bachelor's degree, Medaille College

North Seat

Results

Buffalo Public Schools,
North Seat General Election, 3-year term, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Hope Jay 55.00% 2,419
Jason McCarthy Incumbent 45.00% 1,979
Total Votes 4,398
Source: Erie County, New York, "Buffalo School Board Canvas Book," accessed June 2, 2016

Candidates

Hope Jay Green check mark transparent.png Jason McCarthy

Hope Jay.jpg

  • Attorney, Law Offices of Hope R. Jay, LLC
  • Bachelor's degree, SUNY at Buffalo
  • Master's degree, SUNY at Buffalo
  • Juris doctor, University of Buffalo

Jay McCarthy (Buffalo).jpg

  • Incumbent
  • Member from 2010-2016
  • Employee, Hutch's Restaurant
  • Founder, Buffalo Micro Parks

Park Seat

Results

Buffalo Public Schools,
Park Seat General Election, 3-year term, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Carl Paladino Incumbent 51.97% 1,636
Austin Harig 48.03% 1,512
Total Votes 3,148
Source: Erie County, New York, "Buffalo School Board Canvas Book," accessed June 2, 2016

Candidates

Austin Harig Carl Paladino Green check mark transparent.png

Austin Harig.jpg

  • Student, Hutchinson Technical Central High School
  • CEO, Silver Cloud Media, LLC

Carl P. Paladino.jpg

  • Incumbent
  • Member from 2013-2016
  • Founder, Ellicott Development Corporation
  • Managing partner, Paladino, Cavan and Quinlivin
  • Bachelor's degree, St. Bonaventure University
  • Juris doctor, Syracuse University

West Seat

Results

Buffalo Public Schools,
West Seat General Election, 3-year term, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Jennifer Mecozzi  (unopposed) 73.24% 955
Write-in votes 26.76% 349
Total Votes 1,304
Source: Erie County, New York, "Buffalo School Board Canvas Book," accessed June 2, 2016

Candidates

Jennifer Mecozzi Green check mark transparent.png James Sampson

Jennifer Mecozzi.jpg

  • Logistics coordinator, PUSH Buffalo

James Sampson.jpg

  • Incumbent
  • Write-in candidate
  • Adjunct professor, SUNY at Buffalo
  • Bachelor's degree, University of Buffalo
  • Master's degree, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Additional elections

See also: New York elections, 2016

This ballot only included races for the Buffalo School Board.[3]

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for Buffalo Public Schools in 2016:[4][5]

Deadline Event
April 5, 2016 Candidate filing period
April 8, 2016 Candidate withdrawal deadline
April 8, 2016 Last day to register to vote
April 28, 2016 First campaign finance deadline
May 3, 2016 Election Day
May 23, 2016 Final campaign finance deadline

Endorsements

The Buffalo Teachers Federation endorsed Woods, Harris-Tigg, Belton-Cottman, Jay, Harig, and Mecozzi.[6]

Woods also received an endorsement from the Buffalo Public Schools Central Seat incumbent, Mary Ruth Kapsiak.[7]

Jay also received an official endorsement from the Stonewall Democrats of Western New York.[8]

Harig also received official endorsements from the Western New York Area Labor Federation and the Buffalo AFL-CIO Central Labor Council.[9]

Campaign finance

Candidates received a total of $65,064.63 and spent a total of $28,737.46 during the election, according to the Buffalo school system.[10]

Candidate Contributions Expenditures Cash on hand
Central Seat
Bryon McIntyre No reports filed during the election.
Paulette Woods $1,743.00 $1,647.11 $95.89
East District
Patricia Elliott No reports filed during the election.
Theresa Harris-Tigg $3,200.00 $1,168.18 $2,031.82
Colleen Russell $576.00 $576.00 $0
Ferry District
Sharon Belton-Cottman $700.00 $700.00 $0
North District
Hope Jay $12,115.87 $6,801.69 $5,314.18
Jason McCarthy $12,201.76 $4,035.81 $8,165.95
Park District
Austin Harig No reports filed during the election.
Carl Paladino $10,000.00 $7,236.00 $2,764.00
West District
Jennifer Mecozzi $6,353.00 $2,212.67 $4,140.24
James Sampson $18,175.00 $4,360.00 $13,815.00

Past elections

What was at stake?

2016

Issues in the election

Outside organizations challenge candidacy in school board race

The race for six seats on the nine member Buffalo Board of Education caught the attention of several outside organizations that helped candidates combat opponents using procedural objections. The push to eliminate candidates from the ballot was aimed at candidates aligned with the majority faction on the board led by incumbent Carl Paladino. Paladino, Jason McCarthy, James Sampson, Larry Quinn, and Patricia Pierce had voted together on most issues and had been public about their efforts to reform the school system since they took control of the board in 2014. Three of the five members of the majority were up for election in 2016. Two other candidates in the race, Colleen Russell and Patricia Elliott, were identified as aligning with the majority.[11][12]

McCarthy, Sampson, Russell, and Elliot were all removed from the ballot due to a variety of challenges to their petition signatures. The state teachers union, New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), filed objections to the candidacy petitions of all of the majority-aligned incumbents and candidates as well as Central Seat candidate Bryon McIntyre who refused support from the NYSUT and the Buffalo Teachers Federation. Elliott and Russell also faced objections from the husband and son of their opponent in the East Seat, Theresa Harris-Tigg. Sampson's petition was also challenged by an employee of PUSH Buffalo, an organization that employs Sampson's opponent Jennifer Mecozzi.[13][14]

As for the incumbents and candidates aligned with the minority faction of the board, Austin Harig's petition was challenged by Paladino, his opponent for the Park Seat. Sampson also challenged Mecozzi's petition.

Paladino, McIntyre, Harig, and Mecozzi all survived challenges to their petitions as determined by the Erie County Board of Elections. McCarthy appealed his removal from the ballot and was ultimately allowed to remain on the ballot. Elliot, Sampson, and Russell were ultimately removed from the ballot and decided to run as write-in candidates.[15]

Candidacy objections in Buffalo
Candidate Challenger Status
Central Seat
Bryon McIntyre NYSUT Remained on ballot
East Seat
Patricia Elliott NYSUT, Robert Tigg, and Jason Prophet (husband and son of Theresa Harris-Tigg) Ran as a write-in candidate
Colleen Russell NYSUT, Robert Tigg (husband of Theresa Harris-Tigg) Ran as a write-in candidate
North Seat
Jason McCarthy NYSUT Remained on ballot
Park Seat
Austin Harig Carl Paladino Remained on ballot
Carl Paladino NYSUT Remained on ballot
West Seat
Jennifer Mecozzi James Sampson Remained on ballot
James Sampson NYSUT, PUSH Buffalo (employer of Jennifer Mecozzi Ran as a write-in candidate
High school student takes on big figure in New York politics

Carl Paladino was no stranger to tough competition after his experience in the 2010 race for governor of New York. Paladino defeated Republican favorite Rick Lazio to secure the Republican nomination after a wave of Tea Party support. He went on to lose in the general election to Andrew Cuomo (D). Paladino made headlines again when he endorsed Donald Trump (R) for president and urged other New York Republicans to do the same. After all the statewide and national headlines throughout his political career, Paladino found himself defending his seat on the Buffalo School Board against an unlikely candidate: Hutchinson Technical Central High School student Austin Harig.[16][17]

School board candidate Austin Harig

Paladino challenged Harig's petition for candidacy claiming some of his signatures were not official signatures. The New York Board of Elections determined that Harig had the official signatures of 509 people on his petition for candidacy. He only needed 500 signatures to be a candidate in the race.[18]

Harig had the following to say when asked why he chose to run against such a powerful figure in New York politics:

“ I think we need to bring some adult behavior to the board — and I will tell you, Carl Paladino is not the person to do that. I’m not going to bring an act to the school board. I’m going to sit down with everyone else on that board, and we’re going to talk about things like a rational school board tends to do.[19] ”
—Austin Harig (2016)[16]
Board member Carl Paladino

In response to questions about why he challenged Harig's petition, Paladino said it was not personal.

“ I'm involved in a lot of stuff right now in order to rid ourselves of the dysfunction, including encouraging candidates who I believe will side with our majority to run and win.[19] ”
—Carl Paladino (2016)[18]

The race between the well-known real estate developer and the high school student drew the attention of the Western New York Area Labor Federation (WNYALF) and the Buffalo AFL-CIO. Both organizations gave official endorsements to Harig. The WNYALF president said that the federation does not normally endorse school board candidates but felt that Paladino posed a significant threat to the economic development of the Buffalo area. The Buffalo AFL-CIO pledged its 70,000 members to help with door-knocking and phone calls for Harig.[16]

Issues in the district

Superintendent handed power to reform failing schools
See also: Failing New York schools in 2015
Superintendent
Kriner Cash

In July 2015, a new law in the state of New York gave the superintendent of Buffalo Public Schools full power over underperforming schools in the district. According to the law, the failing schools were to be placed under the direction of a receiver as a precursor to a state takeover. The receiver was to be given the power to make any changes deemed necessary without approval from the school board or the teacher's union. In the case of Buffalo Public Schools, Superintendent Kriner Cash was named the receiver.[20][21]

Of the 55 schools in the district, 25 of them were identified as underachieving by the New York State Education Department. Five schools in the district were categorized as "persistently struggling" while the other 20 schools in question were categorized as "struggling." The persistently struggling schools were given one year to show improvement in the 100 indicators developed by the state Board of Regents. The struggling schools were given two years to show progress. The schools would face a state takeover if they did not show adequate progress. The only school district with more failing schools than Buffalo was the New York City School District that had 92 failing schools. The Syracuse City School District had the third-most failing schools with 18.[22]

Buffalo Teachers Federation

The new receivership law did not sit well with the Buffalo Teachers Federation who appealed decisions made by Superintendent Cash to the state education commissioner. The law gave the superintendent the power to make changes in schools regardless of union contracts but did require him to attempt to negotiate with the union. Since the two parties could not come to an agreement, the state commissioner had to make a ruling according to the law. In November 2015, the state education commissioner MaryEllen Elia ruled in favor of Cash and the receiver law. In response to Elia's ruling, the New York State United Teachers filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Buffalo Teachers Federation challenging the receiver law in February 2016.[20][23]

In January 2016, Cash implemented his plans to keep schools out of state control in the five persistently struggling schools after gathering feedback from teachers and parents in the district. Those plans included longer school days, a longer school year, more instructional time for career and remedial courses, and other logistical changes. He kept the possibility of staff changes open but did not announce any immediate changes to the staff or administration at the five schools.[24]

Discrimination complaint leads to lawsuit
Buffalo Public Schools seal.jpg

A parent of a Buffalo Public Schools student filed a lawsuit against the district in January 2016 alleging that the district did not follow through on an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) regarding discriminatory admissions practices at criteria-based schools. Carolette Meadows was one of a group of parents in partnership with the District Parent Coordination Council who filed the original complaint with the OCR in 2013. The original complaint claimed discrimination in admission decisions at City Honors School and Olmstead 64, two criteria-based, high-performing schools within the district. After an investigation, the OCR came to an agreement with the district that required multiple action items. The district did not comply with the agreement and was threatened with the removal of federal funding by the OCR.[25][26]

The OCR's investigation showed that white students were disproportionately accepted into the schools in question. The district was 21 percent white. City Honors School, however, was 64 percent white, and Olmstead was 47 percent white. The district hired a consultant on the advice of the OCR, but did not implement all of his suggestions, stating they were out of the scope of the powers of the school board.

Board member Carl Paladino

The Board of Education had mixed reactions about the complaint, investigation, and required response. The main critic of the process was 2016 school board candidate and incumbent Carl Paladino. He was critical of the requirements of the OCR as well as the work of the civil rights consultant hired by the district.

“ We have to fight OCR. We’re not a segregated district. We have a right to have a place where talented students can go to school. We have a right to have neighborhood schools. Parents have those rights.[19] ”
—Carl Paladino (2015)[25]

Paladino told the civil rights consultant in an email to "get out of the way." He was also quoted in saying that the district should tell the OCR to "shove it and sue us."

Another 2016 incumbent up for election in 2016, Sharon Belton-Cottman, felt differently about the board's response to the OCR and stated, "In 2015, we should be about correcting injustices and not playing games. They should know better, and since they don’t we’re going to have to go to the school of hard knocks on this one."[27]

The district decided to make adjustments to their admissions process for the criteria-based schools in 2016. The Buffalo Public Schools Chief of Intergovernmental Affairs Will Keresztes detailed the changes in the amount of weight given to certain criteria. The new plan included more consideration to be given for criteria such as GPA, entrance exams, and state assessments. The student essay and teacher recommendations would not be given as much weight. The district also planned for a recruitment campaign for the criteria-based schools focused on the minority students in the district.[27]

About the district

See also: Buffalo Public Schools, New York
Buffalo Public Schools is located in Erie County, N.Y.

Buffalo Public Schools is located in western New York in Erie County. The county seat is Buffalo. Erie County was home to 922,578 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[28] Buffalo Public Schools is located in New York. The district was the second-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 34,854 students.[29]

Demographics

Erie County underperformed in comparison to New York as a whole in terms of higher education achievement in 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 31.2 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 33.7 percent of state residents. The median household income in Erie County was $51,050, compared to $58,687 for the state of New York. The poverty rate in the county was 15.2 percent, while it was 15.9 percent for the entire state.[28]

Racial Demographics, 2014[28]
Race Erie County (%) New York (%)
White 80.3 70.4
Black or African American 13.9 17.6
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7 1.0
Asian 3.2 8.5
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.0 0.0
Two or More Races 1.9 2.4
Hispanic or Latino 5.1 18.6

2013 Party Affiliation, Erie County[30]
Party Registered Voters % of Total 613501
Democratic 298,511 48.7
Republican 155,046 25.3
Independent 30,035 4.9
Constitution 14,019 2.3
Working Families 3,287 0.54
Green 1,735 0.28
Other 517 0.08
Unaffiliated 110,292 17.98

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Buffalo Public Schools' 'New York'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Buffalo Public Schools elections (2016) - Google News

See also

Buffalo Public Schools New York School Boards
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External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Erie County Board of Elections, "2016 Buffalo School Board Petitions Filed," accessed April 5, 2016
  2. ↑ Erie County Board of Education, "School Board Elections," accessed April 5, 2016
  3. ↑ Erie County Board of Elections, "Calendar," accessed April 15, 2016
  4. ↑ Erie County Board of Elections, "Voter Registration Information," accessed April 15, 2016
  5. ↑ New York Board of Electons, "Campaign Finance Handbook," accessed April 15, 2016
  6. ↑ Buffalo News, "Once-sleepy race for Buffalo School Board becomes ‘vicious’," April 24, 2016
  7. ↑ The Challenger News, "Army Veteran and Community Activist to Run for the Central School District," accessed April 20, 2016
  8. ↑ Stonewall Democrats of Western New York, "Hope Jay for the Buffalo Board of Education, North District," accessed April 12, 2016
  9. ↑ Capital New York, "High school student takes on Carl Paladino in Buffalo school board race," April 7, 2015
  10. ↑ Tiffany Rouse, "Email correspondence with Buffalo Public Schools Administrative Secretary Emlyn Rivera," May 2, 2016
  11. ↑ Buffalo News, "NYSUT leads way in trying to knock Buffalo School Board candidates off ballot," April 14, 2016
  12. ↑ Politico New York, "Paladino: Race against teen school board challenger ‘doesn’t bother’ me," April 21, 2016
  13. ↑ Buffalo News, "Power, politics and money play a big role in ‘non-partisan’ Buffalo School Board races," April 23, 2016
  14. ↑ Buffalo News, "Disputed petitions roiling races for Buffalo School Board," April 25, 2016
  15. ↑ Buffalo News, "Once-sleepy race for Buffalo School Board becomes ‘vicious’," April 23, 2016
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Politico New York, "High school student takes on Carl Paladino in Buffalo school board race," April 7, 2016
  17. ↑ Think Progress, "Forget Everything Donald Trump Said. His Real Message Was The Guy Standing Behind Him," April 19, 2016
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Time Warner Cable News, "Teenage School Board Candidate Fends Off Paladino Petition Challenge," April 21, 2016
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 The Buffalo News, "Receivership: What does it mean for Buffalo’s struggling schools?" November 11, 2015
  21. ↑ WIVB, "25 Buffalo public schools in receivership," July 22, 2015
  22. ↑ Buffalo Public Schools, "Receivership," accessed April 18, 2016
  23. ↑ KSL, "NY teachers union challenges Buffalo receivership ruling," February 10, 2016
  24. ↑ The Buffalo News, "Cash is eager to begin reforms in Buffalo Public Schools," November 28, 2015
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 The Buffalo News, "Buffalo Public Schools fail again to satisfy feds on civil rights plan," October 26, 2015
  26. ↑ The Warner Cable News, "Parent Files Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Buffalo Public Schools," January 27, 2016
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 WIVB, "City Honors School updates admissions process following claims of discrimination against minorities," April 28, 2016
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 United States Census Bureau, "Quickfacts: Erie County, New York," accessed April 15, 2016
  29. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
  30. ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "NYS Voter Enrollment by County, Party Affiliation and Status - Voters Registered as of April 01, 2016," accessed April 15, 2016
2016 Buffalo Public Schools Elections
Erie County, New York
Election date:May 3, 2016
Candidates:Central Seat: Bryon McIntyre • Paulette Woods

East Seat: Incumbent, Theresa Harris-Tigg • Patricia Elliott (write-in) • Colleen Russell (write-in)
Ferry Seat: Incumbent, Sharon Belton-Cottman
North Seat:Incumbent, Jason McCarthy • Hope Jay
Park Seat: Incumbent, Carl Paladino • Austin Harig

West Seat: Incumbent, James Sampson (write-in) • Jennifer Mecozzi
Important information:What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional measures on the ballot
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