SYRACUSE, N.Y. (Syracuse.com) — Ousted Syracuse school board Commissioner Twiggy Billue will likely fight her removal, her lawyer said.
On Tuesday, the Syracuse City School District Board of Education voted to remove Billue. An investigation showed Billue violated the policy of entering a school and attempted to change her grandson’s classroom. Billue said her grandson has been bullied heavily.
Billue’s lawyer Douglas Bullock said on Wednesday afternoon that, while he had not spoken in depth to Billue since the hearing, he expects her to fight the removal.
Given the nature of the charges and the severity of removing an elected official, many observers told syracuse.com they questioned the district’s motives in removing Billue.
“(The charges) seem like small fish in terms of the grand scheme of wrongdoing,” said Amanda Smith, a Buffalo-based education lawyer with Tully Rinckey law firm. “It does sound very weak.”
Billue has 30 calendar days to appeal the board’s decision to New York State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa. It could take up to four months for all necessary papers to be filed and then another four to eight months for Rosa to decide on the matter, Smith said.
This means it could take up to a year for Rosa to make a decision.
In the meantime, Billue could request an immediate injunction to be reinstated on the board temporarily during the appeals process, Smith said. This is typically reserved for cases that are high profile or need immediate action.
If Rosa decides not to overturn the SCSD school board’s decision, Billue could take the case to court and ask a judge to make a decision, Smith said.
Mayor Sharon Owens will have to fill the now-vacant seat on the school board until the next election, according to SCSD policy. Owens told syracuse.com that she is figuring out how to appoint someone to fill the seat.
Smith said Billue may be able to poke holes in the district’s investigation. For example, legal investigator Wendy DeWind said she did not interview the security guards working the day Billue entered the building. Inconsistencies in the report could give Billue a stronger argument for reinstatement.
Smith said, given the nature of the case, it appears there may be another reason Billue was removed.
“From what I have seen discussing with our types of clients, this seems like there’s something else going on for some sort of huge investigation to be conducted into a board member for her attending or going to a school to deal with a family member,” Smith said. “It seems to me that something that’s not on paper, that’s not being made public is going on. And it’s worth a question.”
The board has offered limited responses or justification for its vote. Board President Tamica Barnett has said that lawyers have advised her not to talk. The board members quickly left the room following Tuesday night’s vote, and did not allow a reporter to ask questions. They made no comments nor offered no discussion surrounding the vote.
