In tense hearing, SCSD Board of Education removes commissioner Twiggy Billue
The SCSD Board of Education voted to remove district commissioner Twiggy Billue after a tense board meeting Tuesday. The board found Billue guilty of two code violations regarding unauthorized entry of Roberts Elementary School. Steven Wright | Contributing Photographer
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
UPDATE: This story was updated at 2:15 p.m. on Jan. 21.
The Syracuse City School District Board of Education voted unanimously to remove Twiggy Billue from her position as the school district’s commissioner at a Tuesday special board meeting.
The board found Billue guilty on two counts of board code violations surrounding unauthorized entry into Roberts Elementary School, both with a vote of 6-0. The board’s decision to remove Billue went into effect immediately.
According to the board, Billue broke district policy #1621 in October 2025 by entering Roberts Elementary School without a visitor pass. Billue said she entered the school to make sure her grandson was moved to another classroom, who she claims has been continuously bullied.
The policy states that board members have “no right” to visit a school unless “specifically authorized,” which complaints claim Billue did not abide by. It also emphasized the equality of board members and parents visiting any school in the district.
Billue, along with her husband, told The Daily Orange they both often take care of their grandson.
The only witness called by the board was Wendy DeWind, an attorney for the firm Ferrara Fiorenza. DeWind published a report of the investigation following complaints on Oct. 8 from the Syracuse Teachers Association, which accused Billue of entering the building unauthorized.
Billue’s lawyer, Douglas Bullock, called her grandson’s mother and Billue’s husband, Aundra Billue, for testimony. Billue was also questioned by both sides.
Though Billue’s husband said his wife’s guilty verdict is a “travesty” and “miscarriage of justice,” he said it wasn’t a surprise.
“The charges are too weak,” he said. “(The decision) was already predetermined.”
Steven Wright | Contributing Photographer
The SCSD Board of Education special hearing for Billue.
STA President Nicole Capsello, who attended the hearing, said though Tuesday’s process may be out of the ordinary, it follows education law.
“I represent my membership, I had to put in for my members to call me and say, something is happening. It’s detrimental,” Capsello said. “We filed our complaints, and then what unfolded behind closed doors, we’re not privy to any of that.”
Charisma DeZonie, a new resident of Syracuse, said she regularly attends Board of Education meetings and felt it was necessary to attend hearings as a member of the school district.
DeZonie said though she sees Syracuse as a “small town,” the hearing “hits in a big city way.” She said she noticed a difference in dynamics between the treatment of Billue and the board’s legal representation.
During the hearing, Colleen Heinrich, an attorney at Ferrara Fiorenza who moderated the majority of the hearing, decided to move witness questioning to a private room to protect the identity of the children involved in the alleged bullying case.
Both Billue’s husband and her grandson’s mother’s lines of questioning took place privately, leaving the contents of the discussion unknown to those outside of the room.
“We have to, for the anonymity of the children, keep names out of the record, but people have read the news,” DeZonie said. “I think they should just allow stuff to proceed, instead of us, as the body, trying to figure out what’s going on.”
Following the guilty verdict, attendees called out “no justice, no peace,” as well as “we hear you, Twiggy,” before leaving the auditorium.
Prior to her removal, Billue was elected for her second term as commissioner and sworn into office Jan. 5.
Bullock said much of the hearing and cross-examination felt biased against Billue.
“We all know that there’s corruption at various levels of government,” Bullock said. “But to see it on the school board, when it should be about the kids, instead of your egos and so on.”
Although Bullock said Billue is currently unsure if she will pursue the appeal process, she previously told The D.O. Monday she will take the decision to the New York commissioner of education if the vote resulted in her removal.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article falsely identified SCSD commissioner Mary Habib as the moderator of the hearing. This is incorrect. Colleen Heinrich, an attorney at Ferrara Fiorenza, moderated the panel. The Daily Orange regrets this error.
