Somebody Likes You, Ralph

Ralph Hernandez with Steve Corona, chairman of CUBE

For years Ralph Hernandez has toiled and suffered the backlash of a less than appreciative Buffalo Public Schools administration. Memorably, in March 2007, while in a political campaign to keep his West District school board seat, he became the victim of a news leak by former school board member Donald Van Every to the Buffalo News.

A memo, addressed to then board president Florence Johnson, Superintendent James Williams, board CFO/COO Gary Crosby, board clerk James Kane, and then-head of the ethics committee Hon. James McLeod, was given to Buffalo News schools reporter Peter Simon by Van Every. The note read, “Embargo until I am able to speak with the Board about this issue. I will call you this evening ASAP.”

Simon, doing his job, called Hernandez for a comment. It was the first time Hernandez learned that he was being charged with improperly intruding into the purchasing practices of the district by introducing two district employees to prospective vendors. These charges were added to existing charges already in place—that he had skipped two meetings in New York City while there as a representative of the BPS in October 2006. He denied all the allegations. He easily kept his school board seat, and the charges were all found to be baseless some time after the election.

Of course, he’s also known as one of four school board members who may or may not have leaked information from an alleged “executive session” to another Buffalo News reporter—which resulted in an even more widely publicized ethics probe, in the fallout of last year’s McKinley High School scandals.

Hernandez has been vocal on issues ranging from AdPro, Resultech, CATE, EIC, UB, the New York State Comptroller, the Buffalo Public Schools Foundation, the New York State Department of Education, Crystal Barton, the Peace Bridge, etc., the list goes on. His ongoing unpopularity among a slim majority on the existing board cost him his position as vice president for executive affairs last June.

What else does a guy like this get in return for his behavior?

Last Friday in San Diego, representatives from 110 school districts across the country elected Hernandez to serve a three-year term by the delegates of the National School Boards Association Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE). He sits on the steering committee of the council that represents more than 119 urban school districts in 37 states and the Virgin Islands. CUBE was formed in 1967.

He says, “Serving on the committee allows me to work with the most knowledgeable board members and superintendents in the field of education, while staying current on the latest educational reform initiatives. This knowledge, then, will naturally allow me to provide better service to our district students, parents and taxpayers.”

—buck quigley