The Syracuse City School Board has taken the first step toward recalling one of its members who was just re-elected in November.
The board of trustees on Friday passed a resolution declaring Cherylene “Twiggy” Billue guilty of conduct that warrants her removal from office.
The unanimous vote came at a last-minute special meeting at 4.30pm on Friday, the day after Christmas. The meeting lasted one minute.
Members did not discuss the resolution during the meeting and refused to answer questions about it afterwards. A district spokesman told a reporter Friday that no one would discuss it. The district did not say what conduct by Billue merited her dismissal. Billue did not return multiple calls this week.
The resolution calls for written charges to be filed against Billue and for a hearing to be scheduled as soon as possible.
Billue was not at Friday’s meeting. Gwendolyn Raeford and Nyatwa Bullock were also absent.
Billue won re-election to a second four-year term on the board in November. Her removal would be extremely unusual, though not unheard of. In New York, there is a process to remove school board members who have neglected their duties or violated laws or school rules. Friday’s board vote is the first step in that removal process.
Earlier this month, SCSD security guard Fortunata Sweeting sued Mered Billue, Billue’s son, and SCSD for alleged sexual harassment. Mered Billue works for the district.
In the complaint, Sweeting said Billue showed her a photo of his penis in January 2025 after months of unwanted advances. Sweeting reported this to another guard who said Mered Billue had done the same to her.
At the time, Mered Billue was working as dean of students at Huntington Pre-K-8 School, according to the lawsuit. Sweeting said she felt nervous to present the case because of Billue’s position on the school board.
Mered Billue was reported by a second employee on January 7. On January 8, he was placed on administrative leave and expelled from school. In April, Mered Billue began working in the Public Service Leadership Academy program at Fowler High School. Earlier this month, SCSD spokeswoman Amanda Malinowski declined to say whether Billue still works for the district.
Twiggy Billue, a longtime activist from Syracuse, was first elected to the SCSD Board of Education in 2021 and won another term this year. Karen Cordano was also re-elected for a second term in November and Michael Root was elected.
The swearing-in ceremony of the board members originally planned for December 18 was canceled at the last minute. As of December 23, Cordano and Root were sworn into office. Not Bill.
Billue was absent from the Dec. 10 board of education business meeting, as well as the Dec. 17 special meeting and work session.
Unlike most board meetings, Friday’s meeting was not live-streamed. About two hours before the start of the meeting, an incomplete meeting agenda was published. The resolution that was adopted was not published until after the meeting.
School board members earn $15,918 a year.
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