Dr. Pamela Brown is now officially the new superintendent of the Buffalo Public Schools. Brown was sworn in by Justice Rose Sconiers at City Hall Thursday afternoon.
Brown's three-year contract was unanimously approved Wednesday night by the school board after a court battle. An attempt by Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino to block Brown's hiring was tossed out by State Supreme Court Justice Donna Siwek late Wednesday afternoon.
Paladino claimed the board conducted its work to hire her behind closed doors in violation of the state's Open Meetings Law. The frequent school board critic then lost an attempt for a quick appeal before Appellate Division Justice Eugene Fahey.
Brown received a warm round of applause upon being sworn-in by a few dozen people in attendance, mostly school administrators. She told reporters she is feeling a sense of relief and is ready to move forward in her new job.
"Certainly our primary focus is going to be increasing the overall achievement of our students. We certainly want to focus very, very intensively on increasing the graduation rate, but also the college readiness and enrollment levels of our students. We've got a few challenges ahead of us," Brown said.
Brown says the district can be turned around with cooperation and community support.
"The core of our work, the heart of what we do, is what happens in our classrooms everyday. It is going to take all of our willingness and commitment to make sure that every child has access to rigorous and challenging instruction, but that also every child receives the support that he or she needs to reach that level of rigor."
Brown will earn an annual salary of $217, 500 with an opportunity to earn more based on performance reviews.
