Carl P. Paladino is out as a member of the Buffalo Board of Education.
That's the ruling today from State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia, according to the board's attorney.
"He is out effective immediately," said Frank W. Miller, the board's attorney. "The commissioner wrote
a 33-page decision in which she went through and analyzed and knocked down all the various arguments he made."
After a prolonged public outcry, a formal petition to have Paladino removed and a five-day hearing to decide his fate, Elia ended months of speculation Thursday when she ruled that Paladino’s actions warrant his removal.
The state Education Department released the decision shortly before noon, adding that any person removed from a “school district office shall be ineligible to appointment or election to any district office for a period of one year from the date of such removal.”
"It was a powerful decision," Miller said. "She found that it was a willful violation of the open meetings law."
"Justice has been delivered," Miller said. "The message sent now is that regardless of station in life no one is above the law."
Paladino went on WBEN Radio this morning to provide reaction.
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Carl Paladino's polarizing time on School Board comes to an end - The Buffalo News