Newburgh board suspends staff member, fires acting superintendent and appoints Onyx Peterson as acting superintendent

The Newburgh City School District Board of Education on Monday voted to suspend employee 70125 with pay pending a contractual due-process hearing, to direct the clerk to notify acting Superintendent Dr. Lisa Baughn of the board's decision to terminate her contract effective close of business Sept. 29, 2025, and to appoint Onyx Peterson as acting superintendent immediately.

The personnel items were added to the agenda during the meeting and were approved by roll call. The suspension of employee 70125 was carried by majority vote; the motion directs a paid suspension pending the outcome of a contractual due-process hearing. The termination of Dr. Baughn was approved by roll call and specifies a district directive to notify Dr. Baughn of termination effective close of business 09/29/2025. The board also approved a motion appointing Onyx Peterson to the position of acting superintendent effective immediately.

The board also added six later resolutions related to staffing: the reinstatement of several previously abolished central-office positions effective July 1, 2025, and the reinstatement of employees who had been suspended earlier in the summer. The reinstated positions listed in the added resolution include a TOSA (school transformation instructional specialist), director of communications, director of humanities, director of literacy, director of middle-level education, director of secondary STEM and director of pupil personnel services. Those resolutions were adopted by roll call during the meeting.

During the public portion of the meeting and in remarks after votes, speakers urged transparency and due process. Onyx Peterson addressed the community after her appointment, saying the guiding question for her decisions is: "Does it serve student growth, safety, and achievement?" Peterson asked the board and community to "recommit to the spirit of compromise" and to prioritize students while healing district divisions.

Several items the board approved note that further steps are subject to collective bargaining rules and applicable law. The session had moved into and returned from executive session earlier in the evening for matters described as employment history of employees, potential matters leading to employment decisions, collective bargaining under the Taylor Law and legal advice.

The board did not provide additional details about the grounds for the suspension or termination during public session beyond the motions read aloud, and the board recorded individual roll-call votes on each motion.