Twiggy Billue files appeal, seeks SCSD Board of Education reinstallation
Twiggy Billue filed an appeal with the New York State Commissioner of Education, seeking reinstatement to the SCSD Board of Education. Billue was removed from the board in January after two counts of board code violations. Cassie Roshu | Senior Staff Photographer
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Former Syracuse City School District Board of Education Commissioner Twiggy Billue filed a stay and an appeal with the New York State Commissioner of Education, following her removal in January, she announced in a Monday release.
The appeal seeks to stop Billue’s removal and reinstate her to the board. With the appeal, New York Education Commissioner Betty Rosa will review materials on the record and decide whether the removal will be overturned.
The school board unanimously found Billue guilty on two counts of Board of Education code violations, after she allegedly entered Roberts Elementary School without a visitor pass. The board removed Billue immediately following the hearing on Jan. 20, two weeks after she was sworn in for her second term as commissioner.
During the hearing, the board said Billue violated district policy when she arrived at her grandson’s classroom without a visitor’s pass, overstepping her role as commissioner. Fellow board members deemed this an abuse of power, as the policy states members of the board have “no right to make an official visit to the schools,” according to the release.
Though Billue’s attorney, Douglas Bullock, represented Billue at the hearing, the appeal case was transferred to the New York Civil Liberties Union.
“If school boards can remove elected members for alleged minor policy violations, even taken as charged as minor as this, removal becomes a tool to silence dissent rather than a remedy for serious misconduct,” Lanessa Owens-Chaplin, director of the Racial Justice Center at the NYCLU, said in the release.
The release claims that the organization’s involvement shows issues of “civil rights, due process, and democratic concerns.”
Although Billue no longer actively serves as commissioner, she said in the release she still remains “committed” to serving the Syracuse community of students, educators and families.
“This appeal is about fairness, transparency, and the right to due process,” Billue said in the release. “Allowing my removal under these circumstances sends a chilling message to every board member who might otherwise advocate for transparency or challenge systems that fail”
