Artvoice Daily

As the state education commissioner awaits the results of an internal investigation by the Buffalo School District into alleged wrongdoing at McKinley High School, new developments are about to blow the lid off efforts by school officials and McKinley Principal Crystal Barton to downplay the veracity of the anonymous letter that provoked the probe in the first place.

Another teacher who taught at the school between 2002 and 2006 is stepping forward with a signed statement submitted to state education commissioner Richard Mills, corroborating many of the charges leveled at the school, including abuse of the ESIS grading system, abuse of special education services, school-church connections, and theft of services.

The teacher is waiting for confirmation from Mills that his statement is being taken into account before going public in the media, but various sources tell Artvoice that day is close at hand.

This new testimony lends more credence to the initial charges, and should also be taken into account by the internal investigators named by superintendent James Williams and board president Mary Ruth Kapsiak. (You can read the letter that was sent to Mills by Kapsiak on March 12, describing the district’s intention to handle the matter in-house.)

While the letter is written on Board of Education letterhead, naming all the board members at the top of the page, none were notified about this internal investigation until long after the letter was sent to Mills by Kapsiak, who copied only Gary Crosby, Amber Dixon, Mark Frazier, and Will Keresztes—the personnel conducting the inquest. The superintendent was also copied on the letter, but as the entire community knows by now, Dr. Williams doesn’t read his mail.

Still, this proactive approach may not have produced the desired result.

Mills responded to Kapsiak on March 21 in this letter, saying that while the internal investigation is appropriate, he expects a written status report on his desk by April 18. At which point, based on the findings, he will determine if further independent action is necessary. Mills also took control of the probe into Regents Exam fraud away from Amber Dixon. According to Mills, David Abrams and his staff in the Office of State Assessment in Albany are already conducting that portion of the investigation.

Meanwhile, leaks continue to sprout from the school baord’s executive sessions. A second-hand source has reported that McKinley principal Crystal Barton’s lawyer is seeking immunity for his client before she cooperates with the internal investigation. Such immunity could also apply to other expanding allegations against the embattled principal.

This move only reinforces the appearance that she has something to hide. Couple it with the letter Barton sent to Kapsiak (also on March 12) informing the board of a grievance filed with Dr. Williams by the school principals union—where Barton serves as president.

Among other things, that letter called for the board to censure Ralph Hernandez for failing to notify her before sending the original, anonymous allegations to Mills. It also urges that “all copies of said anonymous letter in the possession of the district, its agents, and members of the Board be expunged from all records and destroyed.” (That letter has been available to the world at Artvoice.com since Friday, March 7.)

The obvious question is this: Since when do suspects have the right to ask for evidence to be destroyed?