The Syracuse School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to fire Commissioner Twiggy Billue, saying she violated her oath of office.
Attorneys for the Syracuse City School District said Billue violated the district’s visitor protocols and violated the code of ethics when she got involved with an issue in her grandson’s classroom.
Billue denied the allegations against her.
Billue, who was re-elected to a second term in November, has the option of appealing his dismissal to the state Board of Education.
Tuesday’s public hearing was the first look at the district and board offering charges against Billue. Billue ended up committing offenses when she used her position as a school board member to enter her grandson’s school without permission and confront the teacher and principal.
Billue school board members offered no public comment or explanation during the hearing or during the vote. District attorneys conducted the entire hearing. Almost all of Billue’s testimony took place behind closed doors.
Wendy DeWind of the Ferrara Fiorenza law firm conducted the investigation of Billue last year after two complaints against Billue, including one from the teachers union.
DeWind said her investigation found that Billue bypassed security at her grandson’s school, showed up in a teacher’s classroom unannounced and, when asked to leave, identified herself as a school board member — all against district protocols. After the confrontation with the teacher, Billue then went to the principal’s office.
Visitors to school buildings should check in with security, get a pass and be escorted while inside the building, DeWind said.
DeWind also said Billue violated the ethics code by trying to move her relative to a different class. The lawyer said the involvement was an abuse of authority and influence, and one employee claimed he felt threatened by Billue’s actions.
A building administrator told attorneys that teachers began asking for union representation at parent-teacher conferences with Billue because they feared retaliation.
That investigation began after the district received two complaints about Billue, including one from the teachers union.
Billue’s attorney, Douglas Bullock, spent more than an hour questioning the quality of the investigation and the lawyers who conducted it. He called several witnesses, including Billue, Billue’s husband and another parent.
He did not challenge the facts of the allegations as presented. He suggested there was more to the story than presented in the investigation and refused to accept the results of the county’s investigation.
He called the investigation “terrible.”
“We didn’t learn that there was a child who had been bullied for years,” he said. “You learned that the school failed the child.
The hearing was often contentious as Bullock tried to delve into the details surrounding the dispute between Billue’s family, another child’s parent and school administrators.
District attorneys argued that Billue violated school policy and abused her authority. This was a breach of security protocols, they said.
Those attorneys said Billue violated the school safety plan she voted for.
Colleen Heinrich, the attorney leading the meeting, twice moved the hearing out of public view, raising concerns that Bullock’s questions would compromise student confidentiality. This happened after he called the parents as witnesses and during most of Billue’s testimony.
County attorneys often clashed with Bullock — a former assistant district attorney — and told him the rules for administrative hearings are different than a courtroom.
At least 100 people attended the three-hour hearing, with many more watching online. The crowd included Superintendent Pamela Odom, City Councilors Rasheada Caldwell, Rita Paniagua and Marty Nave, Billue’s family and friends, district staff, parents and other onlookers.
The crowd commented during the proceedings. When Bullock questioned DeWind’s report, they murmured agreement. When the lawyers ended their cross-examination of Bullock after an hour, they grumbled in disapproval.
Billue mostly sat stoic during the hearing. She only broke when someone yelled, “I love you Twiggy,” and the crowd cheered. She kissed them and then silenced them by putting her finger to her mouth.
The hearing culminated a tumultuous three weeks since the school board said it had probable cause to remove Billue and voted to hold a public hearing.
Despite numerous requests for information over the past 25 days, the school board has refused to provide reasons for the removal. Instead, board members opted for the public to immediately learn the details of Billue’s alleged misconduct before the removal vote.
President Tamica Barnett blamed the district’s legal team, which she said advised her not to say anything about Billue’s removal.
The absence of information fueled rumors and confusion. Billue’s allies used social media, provided public comments at a school board meeting, supported Billue during a quasi-press conference and wrote letters to the editor in her defense.
Billue said she is empowered to make decisions about her grandson’s education, which she helps take care of. She said her grandson was severely bullied for two years.
The Syracuse Teachers Association filed a complaint against Billue on Oct. 8, alleging she violated the schools’ entry policies.
According to SCSD policy, board members must follow special rules when entering a school building as officials. Commissioners do not have the right to enter schools for inspections, gather information or give instructions to staff. The commissioner must announce their visit in advance and inform the director of their presence.
However, this rule does not apply if board members are visiting as parents.
Billue, 61, is a longtime activist in Syracuse. He works for Jubilee Homes. He is currently serving his second term in the pedagogical council. She was elected in 2021 and re-elected this fall.
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