The Buffalo School Board has decided Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash is doing a pretty good job, garnering a grade of B-.
The board spent more than three hours behind closed doors talking about their annual evaluation of the superintendent, around half of it with Cash in the room. The board released only overall scores based on individual evaluations from all nine members, saying Cash earned 2.95 out of 4.0 points overall.
In a statement, Board President Barbara Seals Nevergold said the board decided the superintendent did a good job this year.
"What we did was we provided an opportunity for board members to express to the superintendent why they evaluated him the way on the way they evaluated him and for him to give us feedback as well. So it wasn't a one-sided conversation, it was really six-sided, she said. "We look forward to continuing the work of the New Education Bargain under his leadership. We look forward to that work providing greater access and equity for all children. Next year, we will be looking on performance objectives that will focus on these areas."
The troubling section was a 2.56 or C+ rating in the superintendent's relationship with the board. That was a problem revealed last year when someone on the board leaked the individual evaluations, showing Seals Nevergold and Sharon Belton Cottman had problems with the superintendent.
Seals Nevergold said views were consistent among the six members - all members of the board's majority - who attended the meeting.
"There was great consistency around the table regarding the achievements and accomplishments that we have made this year under Dr. Cash's leadership in the community schools, the increase in graduation rates, the innovative high schools, reduction of class size for kindergarten," she said.
Three prominent board members were missing from the meeting - members of the board's minority, Carl Paladino, Larry Quinn and Patty Pierce - although all three submitted evaluations.
The board will soon have a public meeting to talk about the superintendent's goals and objectives for next year.
