Board of Education, community advocate clash

by Susan Mikula Campbell
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, March 13, 2008

An angry response from a Board of Education member greeted Rosemary Warren last week when she got up to speak during the public portion of the Niagara-Wheatfield board’s regular meeting.

Warren criticized the group for holding an executive session on personnel matters prior to its meeting. She said it was an illegal executive session, because the board should have opened its public meeting first, then called the executive session.

She commented on Board member Donald Moyer Jr. shaking his head, and Moyer responded, “You know, I’m getting tired of listening to your nonsense every month.”

Warren, a former board member, is a regular at NW meetings, and is usually the only non-school district person present other than the press. She almost always gets up to speak, offering criticism, suggestions or harking back to things that happened when she was a board member.

In other matters, Kerin Dumphrey, district business manager, asked the board to set parameters on any tax increase this year, noting that anticipated $3 million increase in state aid should help the district to balance out increases in costs. The board agreed that any tax increase should be kept as close to zero as possible.

Superintendent Judith Howard is expected to present her budget to the board on March 19. A public hearing on the budget will be May 7, and the budget will go to the public for approval on May 20.