Under the proposed single health insurer, teachers will be forced to pick up twenty percent of their health care costs without any negotiations and with nothing in return. By doing so Williams is violating the contract with the BTF by refusing to negotiate in good faith, virtually guaranteeing that the Union will be forced to bring a lawsuit. Try doing that in Williamsville or Amherst. Is this leadership, or simply more scorched earth tactics favored by Williams� radical right wing backers.

Perhaps taking a cue from his most recent Republican employers at Community Education Partners, Williams picks and chooses the media outlets he will use to communicate his message. He gave an interview in the latest edition of Politicswny.com, a publication that is seen by many as a party organ for the controversial Independence Party. The interview was a typically uncritical public relations piece in which Williams stated: �My approach to this whole situation is to work with people in the area to get them to work together. To work on a plan and go from there. We also have to work with the unions and talk and put our issues on the table. I am going to be seeking input from, people. It�s going to be a WE process not a Supervisor�s process.�

The actions Williams has taken thus far are diametrically opposed to this sort of feel good rhetoric.

The Buffalo Public School District funneled millions of dollars into the Education Innovation Consortium, a pro charter school think tank and related entities. But the district failed to comply with a freedom of information request filed by the Buffalo Teachers� Federation as to how that money was spent. Williams has ignored the situation.

He insulted school board members by saying that they looked like a bunch of clowns for failing to appoint a successor to outgoing board member Denise Hanlon. This, despite the fact that Hanlon, herself, participated in the vote to appoint Don Van Every as her successor, a move which was rightfully questioned by Board member Ralph Hernandez. Williams� reluctant apology, like so much we have seen from him thus far, rang completely false.

His proposed summer remedial �academies� also look like they were manufactured by the Bush Administration�s privatization factory; they smack of yet another unfounded mandate.

Amazingly, all of this took place before the month of August, but as we have seen, the assault on this country�s public institutions is a year round blood sport. Busy Summer For Buffalo School Superintendent James Williams School might be out for the summer but Buffalo School Superintendent James Williams has been busy grabbing headlines, obviously subscribing to the �there�s no such thing as bad press,� theory.

After demanding a raise of over twenty thousand dollars per year, Williams made a big deal out of giving back some of his sick days and volunteering to participate in a token student mentoring program, as a way of showing that he will lead by example. In reality the example he is setting is one that should inspire Joel Giambra. Williams helped create a budget disaster as School Superintendent of Dayton, Ohio public schools and has made a surprisingly soft landing for himself here in Buffalo. It goes to show you that if debt is hidden for a good cause, like charter schools, all will be forgiven.

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