Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Members of the Buffalo School Board, including president Mary Ruth Kapsiak, addressed reporters in a Friday afternoon news conference to respond to the lawsuit filed by Carl Paladino over the selection of Dr. Pamela Brown as Buffalo Schools Superintendent.

"We were very surprised," Kapsiak said when asked how the board reacted upon learning about Paladino's lawsuit. "We did not anticipate any questioning of the candidate that we chose."

Kapsiak also says the district's office of legal counsel is analyzing the lawsuit for the "appropriate response and defense," and the board remains "confident" it will prevail in the lawsuit.

Board vice president Ralph Hernandez says the group has a "tremendous amount of respect" for Paladino, and he has the right to make statements of complaint.

Kapsiak issued a statement this afternoon saying she and the board were mindful of the need for community input in the recent vote.

“It was important for us to give the community the opportunity to meet, ask questions of, and get to know all of our candidates,” Kapsiak states.  “We held community receptions, question and answer panels, and we gave the media opportunity to meet and interview all of the potential candidates.”  Kapsiak adds that these activities lent the board additional insight into the individual candidates also, beyond the private interviews and leading up to the board’s public vote, as required by New York State’s Open Meetings Law.
 
Mrs. Kapsiak goes further to say that although details of personnel matters were discussed in executive session, no decisions were made outside of the public arena of the board meeting.
 
“We made a fair and open decision as a board through our public vote,” Kapsiak says.  “The time since has made us confident in our decision to hire Dr. Brown and to immediately present her with a transitional consultancy agreement.  This is valuable time in preparing for the upcoming school year, and Dr. Brown has already made apparent her ability to move forward with a laser-sharp focus on the district’s operational procedures and the quality of education for our students.  I feel that we as a city are fortunate to have someone with Dr. Brown’s credentials, experience and determination to move the Buffalo Public Schools forward.”