James Williams

Buffalo’s high school principals vote no confidence in superintendent

On Monday night, Buffalo’s association of public high school principals registered a unanimous vote of no confidence in Superintendent James A. Williams.

The vote of no confidence follows closely on the heels of Williams’ announcement that he is staying in Buffalo; his contract (renewed last fall by an administration-friendly, outgoing board of education) runs through 2011. Williams had been a finalist for the superintendent’s job in Memphis, Tennessee, but told the press on Friday that he had withdrawn his name from consideration—a move that apparently led the Memphis Commercial Appeal to spike a Sunday profile skewering Williams for his record as superintendent in Buffalo and in Dayton, Ohio.

Word is, Williams is furious about the no-confidence vote and has been burning up the phone lines, chewing out those principals he deems responsible for the measure. To which one might reply: Dr. Williams, the vote was, according to our sources, unanimous.

—geoff kelly