In our weekly segment, "A Closer Look," we feature a story from a BTPM NPR reporter. This week, Assistant Managing Editor Ryan Zunner sits down with Reporter Jamal Harris Jr. to discuss the ongoing administration battle at King Center Charter School in Buffalo.
Ryan Zunner: Welcome to “A Closer Look” here on BTPM NPR. This week, we’re joined by reporter Jamal Harris Jr. Jamal, thanks for joining us.
Jamal Harris Jr: Glad to be here, Ryan.
Zunner: So, we’re talking about the King Center Charter school here today. The administrators, Principal Antoniette Radford, Assistant Principal Joellen Thurman and Dean of Students Brandon Thurman, were all let go right after a June eighth-grade graduation. Now Radford contends she was fired, and so do many parents of the school. They’ve been quite angry about this, and have even taken it all the way to legal action. A judge ruled that their positions were to be restored temporarily, but then recently reversed that position; and of course, we have school starting up here this is the month of September, Jamal, if you can just briefly explain how it’s gotten to this point.
Harris Jr: Yeah, the key here is, they believed, at least Antoniette Radford and this parent group, they believed they were illegally fired, and they're represented by Colligan Law. So, for this school, in particular, this charter school, to get rid of an administrator. The board is supposed to have 11 members. That is what the bylaws state. A majority of that would be six. They're supposed to be able to, if they vote to do so, fire an administrator. Well, this board has been inactive for months. I know on the website, they've been putting names in, switching names out. It's now a board of five. We only saw four there last week when we got the board meeting, when they voted to hire a new principal, and when they voted back in June to originally fire Mrs. Antoinette Radford. I know certain board members from that place entirely. I believe that the President was Michelle Martin. She is no longer in that position. She had resigned her position. So, it's just very fishy all the way around bond and who represents the Board of Trustees for the school, they are arguing that they didn't fire her, her contract just wasn't renewed. And of course, the other positions, they are arguing that they just eliminated the positions altogether. So, very different arguments here could definitely get very confusing.
Zunner: And of course, based on that initial temporary court ruling that was reversed, Antoinette Radford did show up to King Center charter school on sort of the first day that she thought she would be back. We have a soundbite of that exchange that was live-streamed on Facebook by her husband.
Antoinette Radford [Soundbite]: “Yeah, I have no problem with the executive director. I have no problem with the board. They are interfering with my work. I have no problem with them. I have done nothing to them. It seems to me that it’s getting more personal and more personal and more personal.”
Zunner: Yeah, sounds like just a very confusing transition. A lot of people are not on the same page here on who is actually in charge of King Center Charter School and the education there.
Harris Jr.: As she stated, it seems to be, we don’t know for sure, but it seems to be a personal issue between the executive director of the school, Tamara Coleman, as well as with the board, and issues with Radford and issues with other administrators. It’s just a real mess there.
Zunner: So, Jamal, what’s the likely outcome that we have here? I know there are court cases. There’s obviously back and forth in the media, in the public, and things. What could happen here?
Harris Jr.: Right, so we’re kind of in surprise for what we’ll see today with these kinds of court rulings. It was a little bit of a surprise to see the judge’s decision on Monday to just reverse it all and move everything up. As far as from a historical standpoint, we have to remember this is a charter school, not a public school. They follow different rules. There are things you have to follow with laws and states, stuff like that. That kind of all goes away. So, this is a very unique situation, and it's kind of hard to tell. We haven't really seen anything quite like it. I think maybe most likely you see something where the judge probably rules in favor of kind of parent groups, and you see some kind of opportunity to get Mrs. Radford probably out of the school and get on with the new school year.
Zunner: Thank you, Jamal, for this continuing coverage on King Center Charter School, one of the oldest charter schools in Buffalo. You've been listening to “A Closer Look” here on BTPM, NPR.
